Slayers: Between light and darkness
by Zoamelgustar
Summary: A mysterious young man without any memory of his past. Who is he? And where does he come from? Will the slayers be able to help him recover his lost memory? My first fic. Finished! Parings: Sylphiel & OC Hints of L & G and Z & A
1. The beginning

Between light and darkness

Authors note: This is a fic that focus on an original character. If you don't like OC's I suggest that you stop reading now. (please don't stop!!) Also this is my first fic, so please no flames!!

Reviews on the other hand will be greatly appreciated 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own original characters, but someday, oh yes someday… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (deep breath) AHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Also this takes place about a year after Try. Just thought that you wanted to know.

The beginning (where most stories begin)

It was dark. No matter where he looked, he only saw darkness. He had a strange feeling of movement, but he couldn't figure out in which direction he moved. He knew that time passed, but he had no sense of it. The only things he was sure of, was the constant darkness, the movement and the cold. Yes, he was sure it was cold around him, but for some reason it didn't bother him. 

Time passed, he could now feel his own body, and the cold. Now it started to get to him, so cold. And then, just a touch of warm, he was sure he could feel it on the back of his right hand. On his left side, he could see a small light. He knew he had to make a choice, did he want to turn to the light or the warmth? At this time, his body was pierced by the cold surroundings, so he turned towards the small heat. 

As he moved for the heat, he started to get better. The cold was almost gone now, and he could se a new light, not the dazzling white from before, but a normal light, much like the sunshine he knew from before, only this light had a small touch of green in it. Then he started to wonder, from where did he know sunshine? All he seemed to remember was the darkness. Then the light started to take over. He opened his eyes, and saw a mixture of blue and green. He was lying on his back in what looked like a forest. 

He slowly started to regain the control of his body. He could feel how it was burning with pain. He looked at himself, his clothes was torn, and covered with blood. His own blood. He started to sit up, it hurt. "_I need to get up_" he thought to himself. "_I won't last long like this_". He tried to stand up, but failed. He fell to his knees, burning with pain. He could feel the pain in his arms and legs, but was thankful for it, if he could feel pain, then at least he was alive.

After another failed attempt to stand, he started to crawl. Just a little bit forward all the time. He passed and old grove of trees, there he found a old rod. Slowly he reached out to pick it up "_perhaps I can use this for support_" he thought. Again he made an attempt to stand up, this time, leaning to the staff. It worked. "_I don't get faster, but at least it's less painful this way_". As he continued forward, he started to think of his situation, he didn't know how he got into this forest, in fact, he didn't have any memory of what he was doing before he woke up here.

He had walked for about an hour, when he saw a thin smoke rise to the sky. It looked like smoke from a campfire. He started to walk towards the smoke, as fast as his damaged body could manage. He didn't know what he would find in the campsite, but he figured that it was a win/win situation. If he was met with friendliness, then perhaps he could get help. And if he was met with hostility, then he would just die a little sooner. He hesitated a bit before he continued forward "_I won't last long in my condition anyway_" he reminded himself. 

As he approached the camp, he could hear several voices, as far as he could tell, all of them were male. There was some other sounds too, like the sound of two pieces of metal, being struck together. He was about ten meters from the small campsite. He decided that it would be smartest to approach carefully. He hid himself in some bushes at the edge of the camp. From there he could se five men. Two of them were sitting at the fire, talking and drinking from a green bottle. Two of the others were swordfighting, it didn't look too serious, more like a sparring match. The last of the men, and the biggest of them, were sitting a little way from the others, seemingly counting something. From his hiding place in the bushes, he tried to focus on the two sitting at the fire. He could hear their voices, but he had trouble understanding what they were saying. It wasn't like he didn't understood the words, but they seemed kind of drunk, and he was about to pass out. He did manage to hear a few words, easy……….loot…….kill…… "_this doesn't look good_" he thought " _I'd better……_" "HEY YOU" a loud shout interrupted his thoughts, and somebody grabbed him from behind. He was thrown into the camp area. He did manage to get hold of his staff, but it didn't help him much from the rough landing.

The five men in the camp was around him in a second, and a man came from the bush he had been hiding in, "_The one who found me_" he concluded. "So you are here to spy on us" the big man said, "not wise to spy on the Black bear bandits". He drew his sword. "you look like a survivor from our raid earlier today, you should have stayed, instead of following us in your condition, but you wont live long enough to regret it anyway". With those words, the big bandit brought his sword down towards the head of the wounded man in a vicious slash. With a last explosion of adrenaline the man on the ground brought his staff up as a defense. It didn't stop the sword, but it did save his life. Instead of hitting his head, the sword was deflected and gave him a nasty wound in the left shoulder, almost cutting off the arm 

"So, looks like you had some more life in you than I thought" " The bandit laughed "but you won't be so lucky a seco….." the bandit suddenly went quiet, a look of surprise on his face. He fell like a bundle of rags, two arrows in his back. The other bandits froze for a second, then turned around to face their attackers, it was a group of armored men, soldiers, as far as the wounded man on the ground could see. His wounds were hurting. The world started to get dark around him, as he lost consciousness. He smiled, as he gratefully accepted the darkness.

Authors notes:

So, how do you like chapter one? No slayers in this chapter, but there will be one introduced in the next one. So hang in there, and keep those reviews coming. I will add more as I get the story edited. Promise!


	2. The girl

Slayers: Between light and darkness

Disclaimer: No. My plot to take over the slayers, and everything associated with the show was a failure, so I still don't own anything… Sigh… But I won't give up!

Authors notes: I failed to mention this last time, everything written in _Italic _are thoughts.

Hope you enjoy chapter 2.

The girl

Where am I?

He opened his eyes. He was no longer in the forest. He was lying in a soft bed in a room. He couldn't see clearly. It was pretty dark in the room, the only source of light was some candles, there wasn't any lights from the windows either. "_It must be night"_ he thought. It was a small room, it didn't contain much, only his bed, a chair an a small nightstand. On the nightstand, he saw a glass containing a liquid, "_Water?_" he thought. He reached out for it, and the movement made him realize, that his wounds had been treated, he was still sore and weak. Even the wound in his shoulder was somewhat healed, even though it was still an open wound, it wasn't that serious anymore. He got hold of the glass, _"cold"_ he thought, "_Someone must have been here recently"_. 

He could hear something or someone on the other side of the door. His eyes quickly scanned the room once more, no way to escape, and noting to use as a weapon either. He decided to relax. Whatever it was, it couldn't be hostile. It just didn't make sense to first heal him, and then kill him. The door opened. In the dim light he had trouble seeing the person, it looked like a woman. 

"So, you are awake now?", the voice was female. He tried to sit up. "Don't do that" she said "you should save your strength". He slumped back in the bed. "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Sylphiel" she said " And what is your name?". Even though it was a simple question, he failed to give an answer. "_My…. Name?"_ he thought _" that should be easy to remember, it's…. I can't remember! Why can't I remember something as simple as my name?"_

"I don't remember" he told the girl. "So, what do you remember?" she asked curiously, "Not much" he said " I woke up hurt in the forest, I got attacked by bandits and passed out, next thing I know, I was here". 

Sylphiel went over to the chair and sat down. She looked a bit at him, then smiled, "well, that isn't much of a life story you have" she said " but surely there must be more, you look just as old as I am, If not a year or two older." 

He sighed "Yeah, I know, but I just can't remember". He tried to move, unfortunately he bumped his injured shoulder into a bedpost. He cried out in pain, and reached for it with his healthy hand. "Oh, I'm sorry" Sylphiel said "Here, maybe this will help" She reached out for his wounded shoulder. Her hand started to glow white. His eyes went wide with fear. She saw his reaction "you don't have to be afraid, it's just a small healing spell. He relaxed, he didn't know why, but he wanted to trust this girl. 

She touched his shoulder. He could feel the pain fading, when he looked at it he could see the wound close. "There, that should do it" she said. "Now you better get some sleep, the healing spell will work better that way". She stood up, and walked towards the door, just before she went out, she turned and said "please don't think to much about your past, I'm sure it will come back to you in time. Goodnight". She left the room. 

__

"Try not to think? Easier said than done. But I guess she has a point." He closed his eyes, and cleared his mind, _"Just go to sleep, don't think, just go to sleep" _thinking like that finally made him drift off in a peaceful slumber.

The next day, he woke up to se the sun through his window. _"how long have I been asleep?"_ he thought. He looked around in the room once more. He saw that some clothes was left on the chair. _"I guess I should try to get dressed" _he got up. He could feel that he was still very weak, but at least he didn't hurt anymore. 

It took him quite awhile to get dressed, and he had to sit down and relax a few times during the process. I the end, he was fully dressed. His new clothes was noting special, just a regular pair of pants and a loose shirt, both of them in black. The boots were way to big, but for a start he could use them, there was a pretty cold stone floor in the room, and everything was better than walking on bare feet. 

He looked around, and noticed a mirror in the corner of the room._ Now that I think about it, I can't remember how I look like._ He sat down in front of the mirror and looked at himself. His hair had a strange silver color. His eyes where green as emeralds. He burned his features into his memory, and left the mirror. He went over to the window and looked out. The town was not big, not as far as he could see anyway. The house he was in was on a small hill on the outskirts of the town. From the window he could se a forest, not more than a few 100 meters away. 

He turned from the window. _"What about that girl, Sylphiel, from yesterday?" _he thought _"I wonder if she is still somewhere around here". _He decided to go look for her, or someone else who could give him some answers. He went through the door. There was no one in the hallway. He could hear someone in the room on the right side off the hall. As he entered the room, he saw Sylphiel. She was standing in a small kitchen. "Oh you're awake now?" she said "I was just preparing some food for you." _"Food" _he thought _"I feel like I haven't eaten in ages"_. 

"Sounds good" he said "I'm starving". She just smiled at him " It's no surprise that you are hungry, it's almost 4 days since you ate something, as far as I know". He looked puzzled, "4 days? What do you mean?". 

She turned back to her cooking "You have been sleeping for 3 days straight. As you remember, you woke up yesterday, but you didn't eat anything at that time. Sit down". He went over to the small table in the corner and sat down. She gave him a bowl of soup and blushed a bit "I know soup isn't a normal breakfast, but I thought I should make something your stomach could handle". He looked at her, and then started laughing a bit. "You shouldn't worry about that, you know. The way I feel right now, I could eat my boots, and still think it was the best meal I ever had". Both of them laughed at that, but then he turned serious again, "of course, I couldn't remember any other meal I ever had" he said, his voice held a bit of bitterness in it. 

Sylphiel sat down at the chair on the other side of the table. "So, you still don't remember your name, or where you come from?" she asked. He got a sad expression in his eyes "No, I have told you all I remember". Sylphiel looked at him for a short while and said "Well, you are going to need a name, we can't call you something like *The nameless, mysterious stranger* forever can we?". He laughed a bit, " I see your point, that name would be stupid, but I have no idea what to call myself". Sylphiel looked down for a second, then raised her head, something was different in her eyes, they were still smiling, but somehow they now looked a bit sad too. "How about we call you Eruk?". 

He thought about it for a while, "I like it" he said, "but it looks like it makes you sad. Does it mean something special for you?" She looked down once again, the sad look was more clear this time. "It is … was, my fathers name" she finally said. That hit him pretty hard. The girl was only trying to make him feel better, "sorry, I didn't want to make you sad, Sylphiel" he said. The sad look vanished from her face "Oh no, my father … died a few years ago, but it still makes me a bit sad to think about it. If you like the name, you should stick with it". 

He looked at her face, to find any indication that she didn't meant what she said, but found none such traces. "Ok, if you don't have a problem with calling me Eruk, then I don't have a problem with it either. She smiled, "then your name shall be Eruk" she said "at least until you remember your real name"

They finished eating. Eruk felt tired once again. He didn't go to sleep at once though, he decided to ask Sylphiel some more questions. There was so many things he didn't know. _"I know that she isn't able to tell me much about my past"_ Eruk thought, but he hoped that she could at least tell him how he got here. Sylphiel seemed happy to tell him all that she knew about his being here. She started by telling him, that after he passed out in the bandit camp, he was saved by a guard patrol from New Sairaag, the town he was currently in. He was brought to her, because of her healing magic. By her mentioning of magic, he seemed a bit confused once again. 

"What exactly is this *magic* you're talking about?" he asked. She didn't answer at once, but then said "to explain how magic works, I would need a really, really long time. I think we should save that for another time, when you are feeling a bit better" Eruk looked a bit disappointed, but Sylphiel explained that magic was a very difficult thing to comprehend, and that it was a force not taken too lightly. Eruk had to agree, that he wasn't feeling ready for an extensive lesson yet. 

"I was thinking" Sylphiel said after a while "tomorrow I should show you the city, perhaps there is something you are able to recognize". That sounded like a great idea to him.

He then went to bed, hoping to regain some of his strength for the next day.

Authors notes:

There you are. Our mysterious main character now has a name. But who is he really? Can Sylphiel help him regain his memory, or will it take something else? So many questions, and still no answers. But maybe more will be revealed in the next chapter?


	3. A new town and a new mentor

Disclaimer: No sorry, still don't own the slayers. Wish I did though 

A new town, and a new mentor

The next morning, Eruk woke up when someone was knocking on the door. "Eruk?" it was Sylphiel "are you awake?"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes "I am now" he said, raising his voice a bit to make sure she could hear him through the solid oak, the door was made of. "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you" she said as she entered the room. "Don't worry about it Sylphiel" he said " I wouldn't want to sleep all day anyway". 

She came into the room. She had a new pair of boots for him. " I saw that the first pair of boots I gave you were a bit too big" she said "try these instead".

Eruk got up and the two of them had breakfast. After the breakfast Sylphiel started her little tour of the town. The town was small, and all of it looked pretty new. The only buildings of special interest were a small library, a small military garrison, and a few shops, where the townspeople could buy whatever they needed. There was also a small blacksmith. The building that held most interest to Eruk, was the military garrison. Sylphiel noticed his focus around the military compound. "You seem to have a special interest in the military?" she asked her companion. He looked at the sky and answered "not an interest as such, but I was just thinking, that a bit of military training could help me get a bit stronger, and more able to take care of myself". 

Sylphiel nodded, " I think that's a good idea, Eruk. I happen to know the man in charge of the combat training. Let's go see him right away". 

They went into the large stone house. Eruk noticed that many of the soldiers were sending them some strange looks. He didn't think much of it though, he thought that the looks was because he was a stranger, or maybe they were looking at his female companion. He couldn't blame them, whatever the reason was. He then decided, that most of the soldiers were looking at Sylphiel. He made a quick glance at her, she was a very attractive girl. Even though she was almost as tall as him, it suited her nicely. She had a very nice figure, and her long dark purple hair was the perfect frame for a calm and nice face. She really was beautiful, but there was something about her that seemed to give her a sad aura. 

They entered a small courtyard. An elderly soldier was sitting in the shade of tree. He looked like he was sleeping. Sylphiel suddenly started giggling, she made a motion whit her hand, indicating that he should stay where he was. She tiptoed over to the sleeping old man. Careful not to make any sound she bent down and picked a few stands of grass. Very slowly she tickled the mans nose, trying to get him to sneeze. It didn't take long before she succeeded. Sylphiel took a deep breath "Sleeping on the job, are you?" she shouted. She tried to keep her voice deep and commanding like a superior officer. The poor old man jumped to his feet, making a salute in a random direction. "I'm sorry, SIR" he mumbled, still sounding like he were more asleep that awake. It looked hilarious, both Eruk and Sylphiel started to laugh. 

The old man turned around and saw a laughing Sylphiel, then he started laughing himself. " So my dear niece" he said" you come here to make a fool of your old uncle?". Sylphiel had trouble answering him, she vas still giggling from her small prank. 

She looked at him "Sorry uncle, but we need your help". The soldier looked at her, then she gestured towards Eruk. "It's not me who needs your help, but him", Sylphiel explained. Her uncle looked at him, "you are the one they found in the forests, right?" he asked. Eruk just nodded, and started to explain his idea about having some specialized training. "Right" the old man said nodding, " you have a name, boy?".

Eruk didn't answer at once, there was something in the old mans voice, that made the question sound like a command. "Well…" he started " I don't remember my real name, but Sylphiel has decided to call me Eruk, sir". The old man looked amused, "so my dear niece has named you after her father, eh?". He looked at Sylphiel, his eyes were laughing. She blushed a bit, and looked away. 

He turned back to the young man "well, you can call me Gen" he said, " so you want to be trained by me?" Eruk just nodded. "What kind of training did you have in mind?" Gen asked him. Eruk didn't expect that question, and stood silent for a while, he the said " I just want to be able to take care of myself". Gen laughed a bit " I understand. You have any kind of training in fighting?" Eruk didn't know how to answer that question. "Uncle" Sylphiel said " he doesn't remember anything from before captain Reynold, and his patrol found him in the forest". Gen looked at him for a while, then nodded " come back tomorrow, boy, and we'll try to figure out what kind of training you need". Eruk smiled, "thank you, sir". Sylphiel started to walk towards the barracks again, When she passed Eruk, he turned and followed her. Just as they were about to enter they heard Gen yelling " HEY BOY!!, you take GOOD care of my little niece now, ya hear? Sylphiel almost choked " UNCLE!!!" she shouted back, her face beet red. The old man stated laughing out loud, " Just a little payback, for your little prank before". Sylphiel was speechless, and pulled Eruk with her inside the compound.

They decided to walk around town some more. As they walked, a thought popped into Eruk's head "Sylphiel?" he asked " I just came to think, I don't have anywhere in this city to go, would it be okay for me to keep borrowing the room in your house?" She looked at him, kind of surprised " I haven't exactly thought of you doing anything else, of course you can stay for as long as you like." She then looked down and added, very low " I kind of like to have company for a change". Eruk didn't hear that last comment. But even though she said it was no problem for him to stay, he didn't feel right about it. "I know, I don't have any money to pay you, but perhaps I could help out whenever you need it, in exchange?" She agreed, a little help now and then would be nice.

They got back to the house. Sylphiel went into the kitchen and started preparing dinner. Eruk went along with her, " I said I would help out, now how about I help you making dinner?" She shook her head " you don't have too help, if you don't want to". He saw her surprise and explained, "this is as much for my own sake, you see….. I don't remember how to cook, that is, if I ever knew how". 

She laughed a bit at his embarrassment, but proceeded to explain the do's and don't of cooking. The both of them had a great time making dinner, It wasn't without trouble though, Eruk had some trouble with the different spices, but it was, despite of the small accidents along the way, a fairly successful dinner.

The next day Eruk, got up early and went over to the barracks. There he found Gen waiting for him under the same tree as yesterday. "So, my young friend has finally escaped the clutches of my beautiful niece" He said. Eruk was once again taken by surprise, by the old soldiers straightforward manners. "Umm… yeah, something like that, I think…" he managed to say. " Hey I'm just kidding kid, relax" Gen said, "now on to business". 

He led Eruk into an armory filled with weapons. " Eruk's eyes went wide with surprise, he had never seen that many weapons before, at least, as far as he could remember. " Now boy, its time to find a weapon that will match you" Gen told him. Eruk wasn't sure what he meant by 'matching him. When he didn't respond to his comment, Gen stated to explain "You don't seem to understand, so let's start with some basic theory. I believe that if you are able to match your choice of weapon, and your natural abilities, you get the best results". Eruk nodded, that seemed to make sense. "now as far as I can see, you are not suited for the heavy weaponry". Eruk agreed. 

He walked inside and started looking the different weapons over. Some of them were pretty old, and others were brand new. He picked a sword up and made a few swings. Gen nodded, his new student definitely had some skill. Eruk stopped swinging the sword and put it back, while shaking his head. The sword was a nicely crafted weapon, but it somehow didn't have the right feel to it. 

Gen waved him outside. Eruk stopped looking at the weapons and followed the soldier. "It seems you are having a hard time deciding, boy". Without any warning he picked up a staff he had kept hidden near the tree. Eruk froze in his tracks. Gen made a blow aimed for the younger mans head. In the last possible moment Eruk snapped out of his trance like state. He just managed to dodge the blow. "What are you doing?!" he shouted. Gen readied his weapon for another attack "What does it look like, boy? If you can't pick out a weapon for yourself, then I'll have to do it for you! Now fight me!". Eruk readied himself for the attack. 

"You got some talent boy" Gen tossed the staff to the ground. Eruk whipped a thin trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. A frown formed on his face "What are you talking about, old timer?" he growled. Gen crossed his arms "You wouldn't be standing if you didn't have some kind of training". Eruk lowered his guard and dropped to one knee. Despite what the old man said, he had still taken quite a beating. "It has been awhile since I've seen moves like that" Gen nodded in acknowledgement. "You don't look like it, but you are pretty fast" Gen continued to analyze him "I think maybe you would be best off by using some sort of light weapon, like a couple of daggers or a short sword, maybe…." The old soldier went back to the armory. "Now where did I put those…? I swear, those 

recruits are going on serious clean-up duty!". Finally in the darkest corner he found what he was looking for. He stepped outside and held his finding out for Eruk to see. "Maybe you could use these" he held up something that looked like a pair of leather gloves. On closer examination, it was a pair of wristblades. "Judging from the way you fought me, I must say that you are a pretty good fighter, and these will help you when facing an armed opponent" 

Gen tossed the weapons over in front of Eruk. Slowly he bent over and picked them up. _"This looks like it might work" _he thought, as he put on the gloves and secured the blades with a leather string. And thus, the training began. 

The first weeks of training was not combat training, but more like a combination of movements and regular workout to build his strength. Gen took it easy on his young student in the beginning, but gradually pushed Eruk's limits further and further. Eruk could feel how the training worked, felt stronger for each passing day. He still helped out at Sylphiels house, but because of his increasingly tough training he had less time. He also spent long time in the town library, trying to find something that looked familiar to him. Sylphiel didn't seem to mind at all, she was just happy that she had a friend. They had grown close over the spring, it was summer now.

He still didn't remember anything from his past, but he was beginning to adapt to his new life as "Eruk".

Authors notes: Wow, I got my very first review!! Thanks a lot Airi-chan, hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story. So Eruk got himself some weapons. Not exactly the kind of weapons you would expect to find in a slayers fic, but I just wanted to give him something out of the ordinary. Swords can get so boring sometimes.

What'll happen next? Will Eruk and Sylphiel keep living in New Sairaag, or will something happen? Only time will tell. 

This chapter was a bit short, but the next one will be longer.


	4. First battle? run for it

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? Well Ok, I don't own slayers. Eruk is mine, but nothing else.

First battle?

Run for it!

As the time passed Eruk had started to wonder why he never saw any of the people in town, near the house he and Sylphiel shared. He got his answer one day he arrived at the barracks for his training session. He had noticed that some of the soldiers seemed to have some sort of grudge against him, but they usually left him alone. This day was different though, before he could enter the barracks, he was cut off by a group of soldiers. " YOU" one of them shouted " you are no longer welcome here". Eruk was confused. The soldier continued "we have put up with you, and that witch Sylphiel for far to long!" _"Witch?" _Eruk didn't understand at all _" I know she can do magic, but she told me that it wasn't that unusual"_. 

"Why?" he asked, slowly preparing to defend himself, if things got out of hand. The soldiers eyes darkened "That bitch is the reason why, our beloved city, Sairaag, was destroyed 3 years ago". Eruk had heard the story from Sylphiel, who had lost her own father at that time. The town of Sairaag was in fact destroyed 3 years ago, but the reason for the destruction was not Sylphiel, but a copy of the great sage Rezo, the red priest. He had no reason to doubt Sylphiel. As far as he knew, she was terrible at casting any offensive magic. Eruk smiled a little, he couldn't imagine Sylphiel destroying an entire city, with her own version of the flare arrow, the "flare carrot". 

"What about Rezo?" he asked the soldiers " I hear that he was the cause of destruction". The soldiers didn't seem to pleased by his version of the story. "I don't believe that story a bit!" the soldier in front of him said " I happen to know that Rezo, was killed a few months before our city was destroyed. Rezo the red priest was a great man. He cured my mother of her blindness when she was young. He did a lot of good things in this world. In return he was killed by Lina Inverse, one of Sylphiels friends!". Eruk went silent, he had heard Sylphiel talk about her past friends, but he didn't know enough about them to really defend her with that knowledge. Sure, he had heard the Lina was not exactly the most peaceful of people, and that she had enough power to destroy a city, and was even known to do exactly that, when she lost her temper. He decided that he would do better by not brining up any of the things he just thought about. 

He looked around, it didn't seem like he would be allowed to walk away, no matter what he said. With that knowledge, he decided to end the little "conversation" before it got all out of hand. He looked the soldier straight in the eyes "I trust Sylphiel with my life" he said plainly. As he expected, this didn't please the men one bit. They started to advance on him, and he backed away. He didn't have his weapons with him, they were usually kept at the military armory. He looked the soldiers over, only two of them were armed, the other four wasn't. He knew that the odds was against him, but because of his special weapon of choice, he was superior in unarmed combat, but he didn't stand much of a chance against an armed opponent wielding a sword. 

He didn't have more time to think, the first soldier was running towards him. He was a tall man, and looked fairly strong too. He didn't wear any armor. _"That one looks like he was off duty, before he ganged up with his friends, I would do best to take him out quickly." _Eruk thought. He got into a fighting stance, waiting for the soldier to reach him. Just before the running man came into reach, Eruk saw him preparing to make a punch with his right hand. As the soldier made his punch Eruk dodged to the right, easily avoiding the punch. He made his countermove, by making a fast, but powerful, blow to the soldiers ribcage, using both his strength, and his opponents velocity to knock him down with one blow. The man fell to the ground almost unable to breathe. _" One down, five to go" _Eruk thought, the fallen soldier had made the mistake of underestimating his opponents abilities, the others wouldn't do that now.

I the meantime a small crowd had been gathering, ever since the first soldier had started shouting. Eruk didn't take much notice of them at first, but as most of them seemed to agree with the soldiers, he knew that his situation could easily go from merely difficult to hostile and dangerous. He had to ignore the crowd for the moment. He figured that most of the people gathered there were weak fighters who would place their trust in the combat trained soldiers, before acting on their own. Another soldier made an attack at him, aimed at his stomach, much like his own counter attack from before, this time Eruk didn't have time to dodge. He quickly hardened the muscles in his stomach, hoping that it would be enough to offer some protection. He was hit, and stumbled backwards. The blow hurt, but he was strong enough to avoid loosing his breath. He regained his composure, silently thankful for all the extra sit-ups he had made on his own. 

He made an elbow attack on the soldiers jaw. He did manage to knock that one down too, but this time he didn't stay down. The remaining soldiers rushed forward. Eruk cleared his mind. This was his first real fight. He started to defend himself, but he knew that he didn't stand much of a chance against that many opponents. It wasn't a real fight, it was more just a beating. Eruk was able to defend himself against most of the attacks, but he couldn't block all of them. He knew it was just a matter of time before he was unable to take any more hits. Out from the corner of his eye Eruk could see the first soldier was on his feet again, and was armed with a small hand-crossbow. Eruk knew that his life was in danger now, and he couldn't do anything about it. The soldier fired his weapon, and hit Eruk just above his right knee. He could feel the pain, and knew it was all over. He was barely able to move, and even less able to keep up defending himself. He was thrown to the ground, but even then he kept up some measure of defense. His last attempt at defense didn't help him much, for each hit he managed to block, he took five.

He felt something warm approach him. It couldn't be…. 

It was a flare arrow, the one Sylphiel used. The soldiers stopped their attack, and turned around. Eruk turned his head in the same direction. Sylphiel was standing further down the street, her expression was a mixture of anger and shock. 

She slowly approached the crowd. " Let him go", her voice was cold, there was no trace of her usual gentleness. "You just stand back, bitch" the soldier, who had fired the crossbow, growled "that pathetic excuse for a flare arrow is no use here". Sylphiel was still cold as ice, "I know, my flare arrow couldn't even scratch you. But I swear if you don't let him go, you WILL be able to feel my dragon slave". The crowd stopped dead in their tracks and started laughing loudly. There was no way Sylphiel, a shrinemaiden, a caster of white magic, could do something as devastating as the dragon slave. The soldiers didn't seem impressed, "nice bluff" they shouted "If that flare arrow was the best you could do, let's just see how you can mess up a dragon slave. We all know, that the only dragon slaves you have ever been near was cast by Lina Inverse".

Sylphiel stopped walking.

__

Darkness beyond twilight.

Raised her hands above her head.

__

Crimson beyond blood that flows

A wind of power began gathering around her.

__

Buried in the stream of time, is where your power grows.

The wind turned into a storm.

__

I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand.

The crowd started to sense, that this was the real thing.

__

Before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.

They were now trying to scramble to safety.

__

DRAGON SLAVE!!

The spell fired off perfectly, but she didn't aim at the crowd. She aimed high, she didn't want to actually hurt someone. The people who witnessed the display of force were stunned. Eruk used the situation to stumble away from it all. Sylphiel recovered from the casting and started running towards him. There were none, that dared to stop her. She caught him, before he could fall over, and let him use her as a support. Like that they made it back to Sylphiels home, there Gen was waiting for them. "Good, you made it here safely" he said. He helped getting Eruk to sit down. 

While Sylphiel was healing Eruk, Gen told him all about how the townspeople had blamed Sylphiel for the destruction of Sairaag. The only reason they had for not chasing her away before, was because of her healing magic, and his own work to keep them from doing her any harm. "But I'm afraid that there is nothing more I can do" Gen said "For your own safety, you have to leave Sairaag". Sylphiel looked shocked, she had known for awhile that it only was a matter of time before things got out of hand. But that the time to leave was now, was still hard for her to grasp. Eruk stood up, having recovered some of his strength, "If you have to leave, so will I" he said, looking at his friend. "Sylphiels eyes went wide " Eruk! It is me they want, you have noting to do with this". 

He simply shook his head, looking at her " That incident out there happened because I stood up to defend you. Perhaps if you left, I could still live here, but it wouldn't be pleasant. You helped me when I needed it, It's my turn to help you out" Sylphiel was silent, but her attitude still expressed doubt, and confusion. Eruk continued " I know, I'm not the best bodyguard, but at least I can guard you from the loneliness. You are my only friend Sylphiel". 

She managed to smile, but inside she was sad. Gen stepped up "Your only friend, kid? What do you call me then?". That comment caught Eruk of guard, "Well…. Gen…. I… Of course you are my friend too, but still….". Gen didn't seem to really mind after all. " I'm just glad you made the decision to follow her on your own, kid. I wouldn't want to beat you until you did." Both Eruk and Sylphiel were equally amazed. They knew the old soldier was a big joker, but that he should make jokes now, were beyond their ability to imagine. 

Gen turned serious again "Why the surprised faces, boy? Niece?" he said " I wouldn't have bothered brining these, let alone have them made, if I wasn't sure you would take care of her". He threw a pack of clothes at Eruk's feet. Eruk was surprised, but proceeded to pick up the bundle. It somehow reminded him of the wristblades he had used during his training, but there was no blade to be seen. "Surprised, boy?" Gen laughed, but then turned serious again. "This looks like a normal pair of leather gloves, but there are 3 magically hidden blades in each. Try them out". Eruk did. "Now just flex your muscles, and prepare for battle, just like the focus I taught you during training". 

Once again Eruk made fists out of both hands, and prepared for battle. Just as Gen had said, three blades sprung from the top of both his wrists. "Take it easy with those blades kid, even though they are masterfully crafted, they wont stand up to all kinds of abuse, but if you take care of your weapons like I have taught you, they should do nicely. Now get moving!" That worked like he had hoped for, both of the youngsters snapped out of their state of shock. They moved quickly, and gathered a few items that could be of some use to them on the road. After ten minutes they had whatever they could think of. It didn't matter if they were ready to leave or not, now they started to hear angry shouts from people who approached the house. It was time to leave. Sylphiel and Eruk ran towards the wood. And Gen stalked back to the barracks, hoping nobody had seen him.

Authors notes: So Eruk and Sylphiel are on the run. Where will they go? And what is in store for them in the future? You'll have to read the next chapter to find out, 'cause I'm not telling.


	5. On the road

Disclaimer: I'm not saying it this time!!! NO!!! I refuse!! Don't sue me just because of that!

On the road

The old city

Eruk and Sylphiel managed to escape New Sairaag without notice by the crowd. They walked to the east through the dense forest that separated the towns of New and Old Sairaag. There was a gloomy silence among the two travelers. Both of them thought of the same question but none of them wanted to ask it. The question "Why?" was heavy in the air. They cast a few looks at each other as they walked, to see how the other was doing, but without saying anything. Eruk shot a few glances at Sylphiel, the former shrinemaiden of Sairaag. 

She had been crying silently most of the morning. This was the second time she had lost her home and family. True, her uncle did not die as her father did, but she couldn't return to New Sairaag. Her tears had dried on her face. Even if she felt terrible, she tried to be strong, mostly because of Eruk, she wouldn't have him to worry even more about her, than he already did. She looked at him, he was walking, but it was clear to see that his injuries were far from healed. His silvery hair was filled with blood and much of his clothes was torn. 

His head hung down, he knew it wasn't his real home he had lost, but it was the only one he could remember. They walked on. "We should head for the ruins of Old Sairaag", Sylphiel finally broke the silence, "they would never expect us to go there". Eruk made a nod "Lead the way", he said. The silence was broken. They didn't say anymore to each other, but the gloomy atmosphere had been pushed back a little. 

The forest started to become thin, and the first ruins started to come into sight. Eruk started to walk into the city, but Sylphiel held him back, and shook her head, "the reason I didn't think anyone would follow us here, is that this place is haunted" she said "it should be safe for us to stay here at the outskirts though". 

They found an old shed, that seemed like it could be a temporary shelter for the two travelers. They sat down inside the shed. It was Sylphiel, who broke the silence "I knew of the rumors, but I never thought it would get down to this". Eruk could almost sense her sadness, "why didn't you tell me anything Sylphiel?" he asked "I know it wouldn't change much, but at least I would know what to expect". 

She looked at him " I'm terribly sorry, I never thought anyone would take their hatred out on you. I would have been able to use an protection spell to escape". Eruk had to agree, he knew her protection magic was strong, but he didn't like to think of her as a target for hatred. 

"I know this it tough, but we need to think of our next move, I mean, we can't stay here forever" This time it was Eruk who broke the silence. Sylphiel was thinking for a second "We need to go somewhere safe, even if they should send people out to search for us" Sylphiel smiled a little "We should go to Seyruun". Eruk looked puzzled "Seyruun?" he said "I have heard it's a large kingdom of white magic, but other than that I know nothing of it. Wouldn't it be stupid of us to go to such a big city? That would be the first place I would look for a couple of fugitives accused of destroying an entire city". Sylphiel couldn't help smiling "I know, and under normal circumstances I would agree with you. But, you remember the girl Amelia, I have told you about?" Eruk nodded. "Well, she was there when Sairaag was destroyed, and she is the princess of Seyruun". 

Eruk's face was pure surprise, he would never have thought someone like the purple haired girl knew a real princess". Both of them started to laugh. " Why haven't you told me Amelia was a princess, Sylphiel". He thought he knew most of her tales, but apparently she hadn't told him everything. "I'm sorry" she said "but, none of us ever thought of her as a princess. Well…. perhaps miss Lina did, when she needed someone to cover her expenses". Eruk understood, it seemed to be a normal thing to think of a friend and travelling companion as that, and not their position in the society. 

They stopped talking for a while. "You know", it was Sylphiel who broke the silence, "we should start preparing for the night". Eruk didn't understand. It was pretty early, it couldn't be later than maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon. He pointed these things out to her. Sylphiel didn't agree with him. "We need to gather enough firewood to last all night, and we need to barricade this house too". Eruk stood up and stretched "I get the firewood part, but why do we need to secure the area like that?" it just didn't make sense to him. "You remember, how I told you this area was hunted?" Sylphiel tried to explain. Eruk made a quick nod, it wasn't as if he had a bad memory. He knew something had to have happened to him six months ago, to make him forget his past, but apart from that he never had any trouble remembering things. 

Sylphiel went on " It's not just a rumor, this place really is populated whit living death. They are not the smartest of enemies, but we wouldn't want to be surprised by them". Eruk stood up, and then made a bow to her "I bow to your wisdom, miss know-it-all Sylphiel. It shall be as you command". Sylphiel blushed, she wasn't used to this kind of reaction. 

He took her hand "come on. Don't you dare to just sit and watch me do all the work". She got up and the two of them got to work. Sylphiel gathered firewood, and Eruk started to look for something they could use to fortify themselves with. He found some old doors. They would be perfect. He started to drag them back to the shed, they had chosen to be their home for the night. Sylphiel was already back, she had gathered quite a big supply of wood, it was sure to last all night. 

It was a fairly simple matter to cover the two windows with the doors he found. The door to the shed itself was fine. They were pretty sure nothing would sneak in on them, without them hearing anything. Eruk went outside to see how the house looked from the outside. On his sign, Sylphiel cast a light spell. He had done a pretty good job at fortifying the shed. Even the light spell could not be seen easily from the outside.

Night came. They had made a small fire, just large enough to give off the heat and light they needed. They took turns at sleeping. It was Eruk's turn to sleep. Sylphiel was bored, there was nothing to do. She looked at her companion, he had changed quite a bit in the time she had known him, both in looks and personality. He had let his silvery white hair grow, it wasn't as long as her own long, but still long enough to touch his shoulders. He had put on some muscles, thanks to Gen's training. In personality, he had grown to be more confident, and he was quite trustworthy. She was glad, that he had chosen to follow her, now that she needed a friend the most. 

He almost reminded her of Gourry. Gourry, she hadn't thought of him for a while. She wondered what he and miss Lina was doing now. She hadn't heard from them for so long. She still though of Gourry once in a while. She had once loved him, but seeing how he and Lina had grown close, she had tried to forget about the blonde swordsman. She hoped he and Lina were happy. That would be enough for her

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scratching sound from outside. She rushed over and woke up Eruk. "Huh? Sylphiel? What's the matter?". He was barely awake. "Shhh" She put her hand over his mouth, "there is something outside". He went silent. Now the both of them could hear the sound, almost like someone, or something, was trying to get inside. They moved silently to gather what few belongings they had. The door they had placed in front of the left window was starting to break. They knew it was only a matter of time before whatever was outside got in. The barrier shattered. From were they were at the back of the cabin, they could see 3 skeletons, hacking away at the last pieces of their barrier. 

"This does not look good" Eruk was slowly backing away. Sylphiel agreed, knowing more about monsters that Eruk did. "Skeletons usually hunt in large packs, these 3 are probably just the beginning", She explained "I think we should get out of here". Eruk could see that she was scared, she was shaking, and her voice was trembling. Eruk wasn't too comfortable about the situation either. The first skeleton now climbed into the room. 

__

"This is it, no more thinking. I just have to trust my training". Eruk rushed towards the monster. He didn't use his blades just yet. It took a swing at him with a rusty sword. It wasn't that fast. He dodged the blow. Then made a punch to the head of the skeleton. Just before his fist connected with the sickly yellow bones of the skull, he made the blades appear. The skull exploded in a cloud of yellow dust. Sylphiel had moved to the door. She looked out. She could see several shadows moving towards them. There wasn't much time before they would get there. " ERUK" she shouted "THIS WAY! We have to get out of here now." He hurried to her side. They ran. Eruk took care of the skeletons that appeared in front of them. 

__

"they aren't that tough" he thought_ "but I wouldn't want to be surrounded by these guys" _He looked behind him, a few arrows took flight. Sylphiel stopped running, turned around and made a defensive barrier. The arrows fell to the ground. She ran on, and caught up to Eruk, who had finished of a few skeletons. They could see the sun started to rise on the eastern sky. The monsters stopped, they hated the sun. Eruk and Sylphiel kept on running. They reached the other edge of Old Sairaag. "looks like we are safe, for the moment" Eruk said. "Yes, I hope you are right" Sylphiel agreed. They started to walk on, just in case. "You know" Sylphiel said after awhile "This was your first real battle, you did great". Eruk smiled "I don't know about that" he said "I'm afraid I took a few hits". Sylphiel stopped. " Why didn't you tell me? If your were hurt, you should tell me". Eruk shook his head " no need to worry about it, I'm fine". She didn't seem convinced. She looked him straight in the eyes " Sit down. Now!" it was a command. 

He sat down, Sylphiel kneeled down beside him. Her hands were glowing. Eruk could feel that he got better, that girls healing magic was really something. He had tried to be healed by her a few times, but it seemed to amaze him every time. "I was wondering" he said "that magic stuff, you think I could do it too?". 

She just looked at him in stunned silence. "I was just thinking" Eruk explained "you can heal me if I get hurt, but if something should happen to you I wouldn't be able to do anything about it". She looked to be deep in thought. After a while she said " I have thought of that problem too, and I sense the power of magic in you, but I'm not a very good teacher". He knew that the girls self-esteem was very low, it was only in times of danger that she got more faith in herself. 

"You don't have to worry about your abilities as a teacher, Sylphiel, I'm not asking to be a fully fledged sorcerer. I just want to learn a few tricks. If you think I have what it takes, that is". Sylphiel giggled at his formal style of asking. "I guess, I could give it a try" she finally said "even though miss Amelia would do better than me as a teacher". 

He placed a hand on her shoulder "Perhaps that would be best" Eruk agreed " But, like I said, I don't need a formal teacher, just a friend to show me a few tricks". Sylphiel was still giggling "Ok ok I surrender, perhaps I could try to teach you some basic spells".

Authors notes: 

Hey, another review!! You think it would be cool If Eruk got pissed at Xellos, do you Ramaon? Well, to tell the truth, that will happen. And trust me it won't be pretty!

That being said, on to this chapter. Eruk and Sylphiel are heading for Seyruun? Will they get help once they get there, or will they run into more trouble on the way? See ya in the next chapter. And keep those reviews coming, it's great to know that all of my work is appreciated.


	6. An assassin?

Disclaimer: I'm getting sick of saying this every time. I still don't own the slayers.

An assassin?

Someone's out to get me

Eruk was now fully healed, and they walked on towards Seyruun. The next few days passed without any trouble. Most of the time, they were talking about magic. Eruk did show promise, he could already cast a spell that resembled the flare arrow with more power that Sylphiel, but he had some big trouble to control the energy once the arrow was let loose. The magic was strong when cast, but lost its power much to fast. In fact, even before it had been flying for a second, it was even weaker than when Sylphiel used her infamous *flare carrot*. She was secretly amazed, she had never seen anyone learn magic that fast. But on the other side, she had never seen anyone with that poor control. There was something bothering her too. The spell he thought was the flare arrow, was way to powerful to be a normal spell. But with her limited knowledge on attack spells, she wasn't able to identify it. 

They came to another forest. They decided to camp on the outskirts. It could be pretty dangerous in the forest at night. There could be berserkers and trolls or even worse things lurking. They were about to have dinner when a man stepped out from the shadows. " YOU!" he shouted, sounding clearly insane, "I HAVE COME TO CLAIM THE REWARD ON YOUR HEAD!!!" Both of the travelers looked at each other to find out who the man meant. 

They got their answer shortly after. He charged at Eruk, the dagger in his right hand flashed in the sundown. Eruk stood up, ready to defend himself. The man didn't look like a good fighter, but his insanity made him difficult to approach. Sylphiel was sitting at the fire, looking wide-eyed at the two men fighting. She knew there was nothing she could do to help her friend, her black magic wasn't of any use, and her healing magic couldn't make a difference, she could only watch, and hope for the best. 

Eruk was having some trouble, but he felt more and more certain of his own abilities. He made quick attacks, wounding his opponent a little every time. This only worked as fuel to the mans madness. Eruk could feel how the man got stronger and stronger. Madness was a powerful weapon. Eruk knew he had to do something, to get the advantage. He got his chance a few seconds later. The man made a kick. Eruk was fast to block with his left hand, and pierced his opponents knee with his right hand. The man fell to the ground, almost unable to move. "Damn you, I wont let this reward slip out of my hands" His eyes were clouded with madness "IN THE NAME OF THE DARK COUNSIL, I WILL KILL YOU!!" He got up with an inhuman effort, and leaped at Eruk again.

Eruk stepped back _"How can this guy keep getting up? Perhaps I should try to use magic. Sylphiel told me that I always were shielded from my own spells, perhaps I could…" _He started preparing his flare arrow, but instead of focussing on his opponent, he placed the focus on his wristblades. The blades erupted in flames. He made a vicious slash at the insane man. Even though he made a blockade with his dagger, the wristblades cut right through it. Eruk could fell how his blades hit flesh, and he could see his opponent erupt in flames. He was dead on the spot. Sylphiel was shocked, and Eruk was just as shocked as she was. He had never imagined that his little idea would prove to be a move, that could do this. 

They were silent for a moment, then they decided to gather their stuff and get out of there.

"I never imagine that I were capable of doing anything as powerful, and terrible, like that" Eruk was still shocked, but Sylphiel seemed amazingly calm. _"how can she be so calm?" _Eruk thought. Sylphiel was one of the most peaceful people he knew. He would have imagined she would be sitting on the ground, crying in shock. She noticed how he was staring at her "you wonder how I deal with what happened back there?" Sometimes he was very easy to read. Without waiting for an answer she started explaining "It's true that I don't like violence, but if you want to survive you have to defend yourself sometimes. At least he died quickly. Besides I have seen miss Lina deal with bandit gangs before. There you can talk about senseless violence". 

Eruk started to understand how she felt. He had been acting in self defense. He started to feel a little better, but even so, he was convinced that he wouldn't be eating anything fried the next few days.

As they continued on, Eruk couldn't stop thinking on something the assassin had said. The dark council? Who were they, and where? Apparently they knew more about him, than he did himself. Sylphiel told him that she had never heard anything of this dark council. "I only hope that we can get some information when we get to Seyruun", Sylphiel said.

That night at camp, Sylphiel continued her magic lessons, this time she tried to teach him levitation and a few small healing spells. Eruk was pretty quick to master the basic healing magic. He had the same problems with levitation as he had with flare arrow. As soon as he left the ground the spell failed. Just as he was about to give up learning the spell, he thought of using it in the same way he used fire magic, by concentrating on small bursts of energy. It worked, he couldn't fly, but he was able to use it as a boost jump, and then use it again to break, just before he hit the ground. He didn't learn more magic that night, he simply fell asleep. 

He was dreaming. He couldn't see anything, but he felt he was moving at great speed. Suddenly a powerful light blinded him. He came to a sudden hold. This emotion was so powerful that it woke him up. He must have be shouting, Sylphiel was awake too. "What's the matter Eruk dear?" she asked sleepily. _" Eruk…. Dear? She haven't called me that before" _She too, realized what she had said. She didn't mean it like that, she was only sleepy, not thinking straight. She did like him, but not like that, or did she? her mind was racing. " Don't worry about it Sylphiel, it was just a dream". She was confused. A dream? She didn't understand what he was talking about. Then she remembered, he had been shouting, that was the reason he woke up. Maybe he didn't even noticed what she said. "Don't scare me like that, ok?" she was laughing a bit. He assured her that he wouldn't do that again on purpose. "Well, it's still pretty early, we should get a bit more sleep". He turned over. She did the same thing, even though her mind was still going around in circles, about her words earlier.

Autors notes:

This chapter turned out a little short. Eruk seems to become rather powerful, doesn't he? Just what secrets are hidden in his past? You have to read on to find out.

Oh, and another slayer makes an appearance in the next chapter.


	7. Another bountyhunter?

Disclaimer: No, slayers are still not mine. Wish it was though…

Another bountyhunter?

Is he a friend or foe?

They were now only a few days walk away from Seyruun. It was noon, and a very, very hot day. They were walking through and small wood. The shadows of the trees were offering some protection from the rays of the sun, but not enough to make them fell comfortable. Sylphiel suddenly stopped, and looked around. Eruk saw how hesitant she was "Sylphiel, what's the matter?" he got no response "Sylphiel come on now, if there is anything wrong I should know about it". She seemed a little uncomfortable about telling the reason for her suddenly stop. "I know this sounds rather silly" Sylphiel said, looking down and acting a bit embarrassed "you see, there is a small lake right over there behind those bushes, and I was just thinking, that I would love to take a bath". 

Eruk started laughing "A bath? So that's what this is all about. I don't mind at all, you just go ahead, I'll wait here". She took a towel from her backpack, and disappeared behind the bushes. Eruk decided that he would rest a bit in the shade. He sat down, closed his eyes and let his mind wander off, as he usually did when he was relaxing, and didn't have the time to sleep. He was a bit jealous of Sylphiel right now, he too would like a bath. But he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to just walk down to the lake as long as she was down there. 

A few birds took flight. The sound wasn't coming from the direction of the lake. Eruk opened his eyes, he had a funny feeling of not being alone anymore. He stood up, and looked around. He couldn't see anyone, but he still had that feeling from before. He turned around, just in time to see a shadowy figure casting a flare arrow in his direction. He jumped away, just in time to avoid the blast of fire. "So, you're going to resist?" the voice was deep. It had the sound of confidence. This didn't look like another easy opponent, like the crazy assassin from before. Just from the fact that he was able to use magic, Eruk knew he was facing an opponent, that shouldn't be underestimated. 

"Come out here and face me, instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward" Eruk shouted. He hoped his little taunt would work. He figured if his mysterious adversary was as confident in his own abilities as he sounded, he wouldn't want to be called a coward. It looked like it worked. A figure could be seen through the smoke of the exploded flare arrow. The figure was dressed in a beige outfit, that included a hood he seemingly used to cover his face. The man drew his sword, "So, you want to face me head on do you?" Eruk shook his head " Actually, I would rather not fight you at all, but if I have to fight to survive, then I will. Just tell me, why are you doing this?". 

The cloaked man raised his sword "I'm doing this because there is a price on your head, and because I need the money to keep travelling". With those words, he made a charge at Eruk. He was fast, much faster than anyone Eruk had ever seen. He was barely able to defend himself against the attack. It was times like this where Eruk was really thankful for his enchanted wristblades. He wouldn't have had time draw a sword, before the attack hit him, but the blades he had, could be ready in less that a second. 

His attacker was surprised by learning that his opponent in fact was armed. "Looks like I have underestimated you a bit, but you need more than that to beat me". Eruk knew the mysterious enemy was right, his blows were powerful, much more than he had ever experienced before. And even so, he had a strange felling that his enemy was holding back, testing him in some fashion. 

They fought on. Eruk was trying to find weak spots in his opponents style, but he couldn't find any. As a last try he cast levitation, and made a boost jump over the beige man. That worked. His opponent was surprised, and wasn't paying attention. Eruk saw his chance, he made a direct attack at his opponents stomach. His claws pierced the clothes, but when Eruk expected to feel flesh, his blades came to a sudden stop. Eruk was surprised, something was stopping his blades? But his opponent didn't wear any armor. The man removed his hood and mask. Eruk stared in surprise. It looked like the mans skin was made of stone. 

Both men took a step back. "Now this is your last chance surrender now, and I might let you live" the stoneman said. Eruk responded by getting into a fighting stance. "If that is the way you want it, then you leave me no choice". Eruk had a feeling that this time, his opponent wasn't playing around. The stoneman raised his arms, and started to gather energy "FIREBALL". The energy flew towards him, but just before it hit, it was stopped by a magical barrier. Both warriors were surprised. 

"Eruk! Are you ok?" It was Sylphiels voice. She came through the shrubbery behind Eruk. "Who are you fighting?", Eruk was a bit surprised, couldn't she see it? He looked around and understood her question. The impact of the spell had made a lot of smoke. "So you have an ally? I don't care. I'll just have to take care of both you then." The stoneman cast a wind spell, and blew the smoke away. Eruk was ready for another charge, but it never came. 

Eruk could see his opponent staring in wide eyed surprise at something behind him. Eruk turned around. There was nothing special there. Sylphiel were standing behind a bush. He couldn't see her all to clearly. Judging from the towel she still had wrapped around her, she had left the lake at the first sounds of battle. The stonemans look was pure surprise, and Eruk would swear that he has blushing a bit too. "SYLPHIEL!" the stoneman shouted "what are you doing here?" Sylphiel too was surprised "Mr. Zelgadis?". Eruk didn't understand at first, but then he recalled something Sylphiel had told him about her old comrades. So, this was Zelgadis, a swordsman and a master of shamanistic magic. _" No wonder he was tough to beat"._

It was Eruk who broke the silence first "Sylphiel, is this the Zelgadis you have told me about?" The former shrinemaiden nodded in agreement. The movement almost made her drop her towel. She turned red. Eruk noticed her problems with her temporary outfit, "Why don't you go and get properly dressed? I promise, I wont attack your friend here, unless of course, he makes the first move". To his surprise, Zelgadis agreed. 

Sylphiel quickly got behind a bush to get dressed. Meanwhile the two men were staring at each other, none of them felt like they could trust the other. A few minutes passed, and Sylphiel returned, she wasn't fully dressed, but it was better than the towel, apparently she didn't trust the two men to keep up with their little truce. 

"Now Mr. Zelgadis, would you please tell us why you were attacking us?" Sylphiel was the first person to ask a question. Zelgadis merely shrugged his shoulders "First, I didn't attack you, Sylphiel, there are somebody who will pay good money to get their hands on your friend here". Eruk looked surprised "A reward? For me? Who would pay money to get me?" Zelgadis shook his head "I don't exactly know. I heard about it from a couple of bounty hunters, and when I saw you, I saw my chance to earn some travelling money". 

Eruk was still skeptical of the strange swordsman "So, are you still to be considered an enemy?" Eruk had noticed the rather blunt way the chimera was talking, and decided to ask him as directly as possibly. Zelgadis was silent for a moment, then he answered the question "If it was just you, then I wouldn't give up the chance of earning some extra money. But if you are a friend of Sylphiels, then you are safe. You are not really my concern after all". Sylphiel decided to say something, before the two men started to fight once again. "Mr. Zelgadis, we are on our way to Seyruun, why don't you come with us?" Zelgadis seemed to be a little evasive about the subject. "Perhaps I will, but not until you tell me why you are going there". And so, Eruk and Sylphiel told the chimera the entire story of how the met and why they were going to Seyruun. It actually seemed to catch the interest of the shaman swordsman. He turned to Eruk " So you mean to tell me that you don't remember anything from your past?" Eruk made a nod as an answer. Zelgadis seemed deep in thought. "Helping you could maybe lead to some clues about my cure" he finally said " But I wont come with you just now. I have some other things to look into first". 

He got up and started to walk off, just before he reached the bushes he turned around "I'll try to catch up with you in Seyruun, but in case you leave before I get there, just let prince Phill know in what direction you have left, and I'll track you down". With those words he left. 

Eruk was amazed, he had never thought Zelgadis would ever help them. Sylphiel told him the entire story of who Zelgadis were, and how he ended up as a chimera. "Perhaps he really think this entire Dark council, hold some information to help him cure his curse". She went silent for a second, she was thinking of another reason. Zelgadis had been rather cruel to her in the beginning, but later on he always had been very protective of her when she was involved in some kind of trouble, perhaps that was the reason this time too? There was no use in wondering whatever the reason was for Zelgadis to help them, at least they had made themselves a friend.

Authors notes:

Again a pretty short chapter. But Zelgadis made an appearance!! YAY!! And don't worry he'll be back. In the next chapter Sylphiel and Eruk will arrive in Seyruun, but not everything is as peaceful as they seem…


	8. Trouble in the white capital

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Slayers, I mean. Eruk is mine

Trouble in the white capital

Eruk and Sylphiel had finally made it to Seyruun. It was a magnificent city. Eruk wondered a bit about the city wall, it seemed like there was no plan in how it was built. Sylphiel explained how the city itself was made as a huge magic circle to shield it from any magical attacks. 

They approached the palace, it usually was no problem for the common people to enter. Prince Phillionel was know as a ruler that held the peoples opinion in high esteem. If any of the townspeople had anything to say they could go to the palace and make their wishes known. Sylphiel had told Eruk as much of Seyruun as she knew. They decided to go to the palace at once. As they reached the gates, they royal guard was blocking their way. 

"We need to enter" Sylphiel explained " We have to see princess Amelia". The guard didn't seem to care "There is no one that enters the palace at the present time, please turn back now". Sylphiel took a step forward " but the princess and I are old friends. I'm Sylphiel from Sairaag". The guards attitude turned more hostile and he raised his weapon "I have no proof that you are who you claim, so turn back now". Eruk placed his hand on her shoulder "Come on, there is no way they are letting us in". They turned and started to walk to the palace inn. Sylphiel was a bit amazed. Eruk was not a person that gave up that easily. 

They found a table at the inn, and ordered some food. "I didn't think you would give up that easily" Sylphiel said. Eruk looked at her, it was clear to see that he had planed something. "Tomorrow I will get into the palace, problem is that my plan isn't exactly legal". Sylphiel was confused, she started to speak, but was cut of by Eruk "It would be best if you didn't ask any questions, if anything goes wrong then at least you can claim you knew nothing of my plans". 

The night came and it was dawn again. Sylphiel woke up. There was a letter standing on a small table. She opened it and read:

I have left to get into the palace. If I succeed, the guards will take you to there.

She didn't know what to do, she wouldn't want Eruk in danger, but it could be important to his plan that she waited at the inn. To top it all of, she was surprised that he had entered her room without her permission. 

Eruk was standing in front of the palace, if only he had guessed right about the guard. The moment he was waiting for came some time later. The guards from the nightshift was being replaced. This was the time he had been waiting for. He ran towards the palace gates and pushed by the guards. He was inside the palace, now he just needed to find the princess. Something that was easier said than done. He ran down a huge corridor, trying to be as much out of sight as possibly. _"Man, this is a REALLY big palace, what have I gotten myself into?" _Eruk was in trouble, he was inside the Seyruun palace, and he had most of the guards on his tail. _"This is really the way to start your day" _he thought. 

He ran on. From the shadow of a huge stone pillar he saw a well armed group of guards head away from the entrance. He decided to follow them. It was a bet, but there was a small chance that they were the personal guards of some important person, perhaps it would be the princess. He managed to stay out of sight. The guards were heading for a certain door, and formed a line of defense in front of it. _"looks like I was right about this important person business, now if I'm lucky…" _He looked around, there was no way to get through the door. He was a pretty good fighter, but he didn't stand a chance against that many guards. He entered a nearby room. It was empty. He looked out the window, it looked like he could get to the roof from there. As he ran over the roof, he tried to figure outexactly were the guarded room was. He got to a spot where he thought the guarded room would be. He looked down the wall, there was a window there. _"Here goes nothing"_ He thought, and jumped down the wall. 

He had been practicing levitation, just before he fell by the window, he levitated inside. Even though he had gotten better he could only maintain the spell for a few seconds, but it was enough. He landed without making a sound. There was a girl standing in front of him facing the door. She was somewhat short, at least a head shorter than Sylphiel. She was wearing a night-gown, like she had just awoken. _"This could be the princess, at least she matches Sylphiels description somewhat. Gotta take a chance". _He quietly walked behind her, careful not to make any sound. He put his left arm around the girls neck, and pressed his right hand against her troath. "Don't move princess" he whispered. The girl was shocked, and let out a scream. This was not going exactly as he had hoped. 

The guards had heard her, and was now entering the room. "PRINCEES AMELIA!! WHAT'S THE MAT… " the first guard shouted, but as he saw Eruk, he went silent. 

"YOU!! Get away from the princess!!" He yelled, after he regained his voice . _"So this IS the princess, I guess this is pretty lucky"_ He knew he had to react quickly. He moved his right hand a bit, and shot his blades out, just a few centimeters from the shocked girls face. "You better call back your guards princess, next time I won't miss", Eruk tried to sound as serious as he could. 

Amelia nodded, and made a small gesture, the guards started to move out of the room. "Not so fast, I need one of the guards here" Eruk said, he knew that it was just a matter of time before he made a mistake. As he had demanded, one of the guards stayed. "I have only one demand. I have a friend, a girl at the nearest inn, you must bring her here, and your princess will not be harmed. Don't worry, she's expecting you".

In the meantime, Sylphiel was finished cleaning both her and Eruk's rooms. Not that she felt like cleaning at a time like this, but it gave her something to do, and she knew it would cost more money to have the rooms cleaned by the maids. She was sitting at a table in the restaurant, when a squadron of soldiers entered. They started to question all the women in the restaurant. A soldier approached Sylphiel. She figured that it was her they were after, as it seemed they were looking for someone special. She decided to make the first move. 

She handed Eruk's letter to the soldier and said "I think I'm the one you are looking for, sir" The soldier was surprised, he had expecting a somewhat different type of girl to be the one they were after. It seemed to her as they were upset by something, but nobody said a word to her. She was taken into the palace, and she got to think, that even though she had heard a lot about Seyruuns royal palace, she had never actually been there. 

She was taken into a room. Inside she saw Eruk holding Amelia hostage. She was shocked, she had never thought Eruk was capable of something like this. Eruk was relived, now that Sylphiel was here, this whole mess could finally be sorted out. He could almost feel the princess's surprise when one of her old friends entered the room. 

"Sylphiel, this is for you" Eruk said, and pushed Amelia over to her friend. Sylphiel barely had time to catch Amelia, but managed to get hold of her before the dazzled princess could hit the floor. Amelia quickly recovered and turned around "Now that I, Amelia Will Tesla Seyruun, are free once again, you'll feel the wrath of justice. Prepare yourself Mr. Bandit!". But before she could use any of her magic, Sylphiel grabbed her from behind "NO, miss Amelia, don't". The energy she had gathered fizzled. "But why miss Sylphiel? Why are you helping this guy?" Sylphiel got in between Amelia and Eruk, "Please, miss Amelia, I can explain it all". 

Amelia didn't know what to do, but finally decided to listen to the explanation. Eruk stayed as far away from the 2 girls as he could, in case his being around would make the princess nervous, he did take her hostage after all. From where he was, he could see the frightened look gradually vanish from Amelia's face. As she calmed down, she also stopped making glances at him, every few seconds. It looked like she accepted Sylphiels explanation. Eruk decided it was his time to make a move. He slowly took of his gloves. It was a funny feeling, he had gotten used to wearing them at all times, even when he slept. He took a step forward " Sylphiel, catch" and tossed his weapons to her. The shrinemaiden held the weapons, and then handed them to Amelia. 

Eruk started to move towards the girls. He moved slowly, not making any sudden movements. He stopped in front of Amelia, and knelt down. "I'm sorry about putting through this princess" he said "I hope that you understand now, why I did it". Amelia had secretly prepared a spell to fire at her attacker, but his word caught her off guard. She just looked at him, the finally answered "Well, I guess that you are not really a bad guy after all" Eruk was relieved. Amelia handed the wristblades back to Eruk, as a token of trust, he just nodded and slid them on. Just as he was testing to see if they were properly on place, the door flew open. In came a very big, and VERY angry man "YOU!! In the name of justice, get away from my daughter". Eruk was stunned, he had never seen a man that big. Unfortunately, The man took this as an indication of hostility. "PACIFIST CRUSH!!!!" Eruk didn't have time to think before he found himself flying towards the nearest wall. He hit with a loud bang, and the world became black to him.

When he came to his senses again he was lying in a bed. He looked around, Sylphiel was sitting on a chair beside the bed, she was sleeping. He started to move, when he noticed that she was holding his hand. He smiled a bit and was still once again. _"This is the second time this happens to me, I should really try to avoid getting knocked out like that" _He then moved his hand a bit, just to try to wake up Sylphiel. She mumbled a bit, but he couldn't make out the words, then she opened her eyes and yawned a bit. He looked her into her eyes "Good morning, sleepyhead" he said. She was a bit confused, but then she remembered what had happened. "Oh, you are awake now, how do you feel?" He rubbed his head with his free hand "I guess I have felt better, but I'll live"

She smiled, and started to get up, and noticed that she was still holding his hand, She blushed a bit, then tightened her grip, and started to pull him out of bed. "Come on then, We have to go see Phillionel and Amelia" she said. Eruk gave her one of his confused looks, "I'm okay with Amelia, but who is this Phillionel guy?", Sylphiel started explaining what had happened after Phillionel had entered the room before. Eruk nodded So, Phillionel was that huge guy that knocked me out?" It wasn't a question, more like a statement to himself. 

The couple approached the throneroom. As they entered the room they heard a loud voice ordering guards around. 2 guards passed them, carrying a man between them. "What just happened here?" Sylphiel asked. " Oh, miss Sylphiel, you are here." It was Amelia. She gestured in the direction the soldiers had left. "Don't mind the chaos around here, but every now and then some bandits attack the castle, and we can't figure out where they attack from". 

"That's right! Those evil bandits have been terrorizing us for a whole month" Phillionels voice boomed. Amelia took over the explanation "It would seem like those villains are looking for something within the palace, but we have no clue what that could be. They attack in small groups, mainly to get past the guards at the gate". 

"That would explain why we couldn't get access to the palace" Sylphiel deducted. Eruk stepped forward. "Oh, it's you, young man. I'm so sorry about what happened before, but it was all in the name of justice" Phillionel said. Eruk looked a little sheepish "umm, no hard feelings, I was an intruder after all". 

"Is there anything we can do to help?" it was Sylphiels time to talk. Phillionel shook his head, "I'm afraid not. These brigands seem to be quite well informed of all our plans. We have even tried to have some soldiers infiltrate the gang, but it's like they know all of our soldiers". There was an eerie silence in the room. "perhaps I could infiltrate them" Eruk said. They all stared at him in disbelief. 

"I know I can do it" he continued "I'm new to this town, and the only information they can possibly have on me is how I attacked the princess". Amelia and her father didn't seem convinced. "I think he could do it too", Sylphiel agreed with her friend. "You really think he could do it, miss Sylphiel?" Amelia asked. Both Eruk and Sylphiel nodded. "Well, we could give it a try" Phillionel finally agreed. The four of them sat down together to plan their strategy.

Authors notes: 

****

*Sniff*** **I haven't got any reviews since my last update… I'm so sad…. Review and make me happy again, ok?

Eruk seems to get a bad start with all of the original slayers, doesn't he? Well, with that bunch of weirdoes how can he anything else? (Here, weirdoes is positive meant). Is he able to get into a bandit gang?, and how will he do it?

Am I putting to much effort into my OC? I hope you like him so far. I have to make him believable, and this is his story after all. Don't worry, most of the slayers crew, both major and minor, will make an appearance. And I already have finished this story, I just need to get the errors worked out before I update.

Another OC will be introduced in the next chapter, so stay tuned.


	9. Big Escape

Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of saying this. I don't own slayers!

Big Escape

The Seyruun banditgang 

The palace dungeon was just like any other dungeon, except that it was a little more humane that most. It was all according to the Seyruun beliefs that even villains deserved some measurements of decency. There were 4 inmates currently there. They were all from the same gang. Right now they were resting and waiting for a trial. 

They all looked up as the palace guards dragged in a new prisoner. The new prisoner was still fighting. He was a fairly young man, just in the beginning of his twenties, he had somewhat long silvery hair that touched his shoulders. His entire build suggested that he had some kind of special training. Just before the guards could throw him into the cell, he broke free of their grasp, and made a wild punch at one of them. He missed by a few inches. The guards threw him to the ground, and covered his body with punches and kicks. Eruk didn't move after that treatment. The guards had been told to take it easy on him, but still make it look like it was for real. 

He was thrown into the cell. "That might teach you not to mess with the princess" one of the guards said as they left. The 4 bandits started to approach their new cellmate. They was expecting him to be somewhat near unconscious. They stepped back, he wasn't unconscious, he was laughing. Eruk got up, still laughing. He was really grateful, that the guards really had taken it easy on him, but it still hurt pretty bad anyway. He decided to try one of the healing spells Sylphiel had taught him. 

The bandits took another step back, as his hands started to glow white. He pressed them against his ribs and stomach "Recovery". He could fell the pain leave his body. He sat down, it was best to relax after receiving a healing spell. He looked at his inmates, it wasn't hard to see that they were surprised by his display of magic. _"Haven't they seen magic before? Well, maybe there isn't that many magic using bandits around"_ Eruk thought. He turned to his cellmates "Stop staring at me, have you never seen magic before?" he asked them rather bluntly. 

The bandits didn't say anything. He stood up and stretched a bit. "So, what are you guys in for?" he asked. He hoped to earn their respect. One of them stepped forward "I don't see why that is any of your business, mister" he said. Eruk shrugged "Well, too bad. I was hoping you could be of some use to me when I escape this place". That caught the bandits attention. "What do you mean by that?" one of them asked. "What I mean is, that I have no intention of staying here longer than I have to. I'm after the treasures of this palace, but I could use some more manpower". The bandits didn't seem convinced of his abilities. "If you're that good then why are you down here?" one of them asked. Eruk smiled to himself, it was just that question he had been waiting for. "Do you really think that I was overpowered by the guards?" he asked them "The objective of this first raid was to gain a few contacts, and to obtain the guards schedule" he pulled out a piece of paper from his pockets. That worked like he had hoped for. The 4 bandits were almost ready to give in to him. 

"Perhaps we could help each other after all" one of the bandits said, "but how do you intent to escape this place?". Eruk shook his head " You just leave that to me, and we'll be free by nightfall". The bandits didn't seem all to pleased by his answer, but found the thought of freedom appealing. "Get us out of here and we have a deal" one of them finally said.

Night came. The bandits were asleep. Eruk got up and walked over to the window. Just as planned, the cell he was in was on the ground level. He ejected his blades, and focused the power of fire into them. He made a punch at the wall. The magical power was released and blasted a hole in it. The bandits was now wide awake. "Come on, it's your turn to keep your end of the bargain" Eruk shouted. The bandits rushed out of the opening, and Eruk followed them. They got out of the palace gate safely. 

He followed them to a little alley. There they got down into the sewers. "The sewers? Isn't that a little obvious?" Eruk asked. "Don't you worry about that, we are going further down. "After a short run the bandits stopped, one of them pressed a brick in the wall, and a section moved to the side. _"So that's why no one were able to find them"_ Eruk thought to himself. Inside was a pretty large complex. 

Lots of people were inside. One of the bandits took Eruk to their boss. The bandit boss was, just like Eruk suspected, a big man. "So, you claim to have something we might be interested in, do you?". Eruk nodded, "Yeah, I have the entire guard schedule for the rest of this week". The boss laughed "You think I'm stupid, if YOU have the schedule, then the guards will know it is missing". Eruk shrugged, agreeing with the boss, "You are right, the guards would know if I had the schedule, but how will they ever know that I made a copy of it, instead of taking the original?". That was enough to convince the boss. "Well, lets see if the guards follow the schedule for tomorrow, if that's the case the you are a part of the raid in two days, if not… well let's talk about that if it is necessary. Of course, before I know if I can trust you, you'll be spending the waiting time in one our special guest suites". 

Just as Eruk suspected the "Special guest suite" was a prison. He had a cell of his own, but he could hear that there were other prisoners in some of the other cells. He looked around, there was nothing of particularly interest to him inside the prison cell. The only thing he could do now, was to wait. He knew that the guard would follow the schedule he had given the bandits. He sat back against the wall. There was a bandit placed on guard in front of the cell. "Hey" Eruk shouted to get his attention. The guard turned his attention to Eruk, "yeah, want do you want?" he asked. Eruk played his role casual, "oh noting special, I was just wondering about why there are so many prisoners here. I mean, I have worked alongside many gangs before, but never seen that many prisoners before". The guard laughed a bit "Oh those?" he pointed to the other cells, "they are our savings". 

That didn't help much on Eruk's understanding. "What do you mean by savings" he asked. "What I mean is" the guard answered "that we hold these people for ransom, but frankly, most of them are sold as slaves". Eruk was disgusted, these people were into slave trading? _"No wonder Phillionel wants them stopped"_. "Oh, that's nice" he simply said. No matter how disgusted he was with the whole thing, he had to keep up his cover. He turned to the guard once again "Could you at least try to keep them quiet, I'm trying to sleep here".

Time passed slowly with nothing to do. Eruk spend most of his time sleeping. Not that he was all that tired, but it seemed to be the best way to kill time. He was woken up by the sound of the door to the cell opening. He opened one of his eyes too find out what happened. A girl was thrown into his cell. "what's going on here?" he asked. "Don't you worry about that" a bandit said "we are just running out of room here". Eruk stood up "so? What's that to do with me? I guess this means that you have verified my information now". The bandit shook his head, "we still need to check a few more shifts, why don't you think of this as entertainment for tonight?" The bandit laughed and closed the door. 

Eruk turned his attention to the girl on the floor. She looked like she was a few years younger than him. Her clothes was ragged and bloody. She looked around in the room, she was scared. Their eyes met. The girl crawled backwards, her fear was obvious. Eruk sat down, thinking that it made him look more frightening to her when he stood up. He looked at her, she wasn't moving away anymore, but she was far from calm. " Easy, girl" he said, trying to sound as calming as he could, "you have nothing to fear from me". She calmed down a bit, but she was still watching his every move. She quivered a bit, and as if the movement had hurt, she started crying. 

Eruk got up and moved slowly towards her. The girl immediately pulled back. "Don't worry, I just want to help" he took of his cape, and threw it to her "Here take this, it has kept me warm many cold nights, now it looks like you could use it". The cape landed in front of her. She jumped a bit, like in shock, but then picked his raven black cape up and wrapped it around her. "Thank you mister" she sniffed "you… you are not going to do… anything to me, are you?" Eruk shook his head "No, I'm not. Listen I'm not like those guys out there. If I had wanted to do anything to you, I would have done it already". 

It was obvious that she didn't trust him yet, but she had calmed down quite a bit. It was quiet for a while. Eruk took the time to observe his new cellmate. From what he could see clearly in the dim lights, she had fairly long brow hair, that hung loosely down her back, almost in the same manner that Sylphiel had her hair. He still hadn't determined her age, but she looked like she was about 16 or 17 years old. From the way she was dressed Eruk figured that she had been working as a waitress, when she was captured. She didn't have any indication that her family would ever be able to pay a ransom. 

__

"that poor girl will probably be sold as a slave, unless our plan works" Eruk thought. The silence was occasionally broken by the girls sobbing. Eruk suddenly noticed the smell of blood, it had been there ever since the girl was thrown into the cell with him. "Are you wounded?" Eruk asked her. She was startled. Eruk stood up and started walking towards her. She pulled back. "Don't worry" he said "if you're hurt, then maybe I'm able to help you". She relaxed. Eruk took a good look at her, there was no serious injuries, but she had a whole lot of small cuts and bruises. He said nothing out loud, but he was thankful that it wasn't anything more serious, he doubted that he would be able to cure anything bad with his limited knowledge of magic. "Listen to me" he said " I think I can heal your injuries, if you'll let me". Her eyes widened with fear "you are not going to hurt me are you?". "Just like I said before, I have no intention of harming you" Eruk assured her "Now lay down on the floor, and I'll try to heal you ok?". This time the girl agreed. Eruk moved closer, and chanted a healing spell. His hands were glowing. He never touched her, even though his magic were most powerful when he touched his target. He figured that she would panic if he did. 

"There. That should take care of most of your injuries" Eruk said. He was hiding how tired he was. Magic always seemed to wear him out, especially healing and levitation. He figured that the reason for this, was the longer amount of time they required to cast and maintain. "Thank you mister" she said, her fear was vanishing. "Don't mention it" he replied "and, by the way, you can just call me Eruk". The girl nodded "in that case you can call me Taki". 

Eruk was pleased that she had calmed down, perhaps he could kill some time talking to her. "So, Taki, would you mind telling me how you ended up here?" She started sobbing once again. Eruk reached out for her to calm her down. She suddenly looked angry "So that's your game you filthy bandit, trying to trick me into a false sense of security? You almost succeeded too, but I'm not all finished yet. As long as I can scratch and kick, you'll never touch me". Eruk quickly pulled back. "Whoa! I didn't mean anything wrong". It was obvious that she had a fighting spirit. 

He decided too use a drastic measure to gain her trust. He stood up. "Taki, do you see these?" his blades shoot out from his gloves, just as he had suspected she froze. She had never expected her "attacker" to be armed, she pulled back as far as she could "I'm sorry" she screamed "Do what you want, but please don't kill me". It was just that kind of reaction he had hoped for. "That's just what I intend to do, Taki". 

He took of his gloves and put them on the floor. "Now I'm unarmed". He turned around "Now is your chance, If you really want to kill me. Just pick up my weapons" Taki was surprised. Eruk knew that she was unable to use his weapons, and because of that, he had let the blades stay out so she could use them as knives. She took a step forward and picked up the blades. She held out her newly acquired weapons at him. Eruk just sat down "listen to me Taki, we can keep up threatening each other forever, or we can talk. The choice is yours". Taki calmed down a bit "why are you doing this to me?" she asked "I know that you are working for these guys, just… just get it over with". Eruk stared directly at her "Taki, like I said earlier, if I had any intention of harming you, I would have done it now. Just calm down, I might be able to help you get out of here". 

She didn't seem convinced just yet "Get me out of here? but you are a bandit too, aren't you?" she asked. Eruk decided it was safe to let her in on the some of the truth. "I'm not a bandit, I work for these guys at the moment, but I don't like the way they do things, and I figure there will be a reward for turning them in" he explained. She looked at him, not sure if she believed him or not. He continued "now that you know my secret, I'm completely at your mercy. If you decide to tell those guys what I just said, it doesn't matter if it is the truth or not, they'll probably kill me just to be sure that I'm not going to sell them out". 

She nodded "I… I want to trust you" she finally said. Eruk was relived, things were finally starting to look good. "I know this is sudden, but you need to give me my weapons back" he said "if somebody sees you holding those things, they'll kill you for certain". Much to his surprise she agreed. "I said I wanted to believe you" she said, her voice was clear and there was no sense of doubt in it, "You placed your life in my hands by telling me that story, I want to trust you". She sounded more mature than she looked. 

"I worked at an inn, in a small town outside Seyruun. We had been attacked by these guys before, but usually they only took food and valuables. This time was different though. Instead of just the normal stealing, they started killing people. They grabbed a few prisoners too, myself included" She told him. She had started crying again " they… they killed my parents". Eruk nodded, he didn't know what to say to her. "But I'm gonna be strong, I wont let them beat me" she continued, it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. "I would rather not talk more about myself" she said "why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Eruk?" He shook his head "I would like to do so, but I would endanger some of my friends by doing that, perhaps I could tell you something when we are out of this mess, ok?" She seemed to understand. They were cut of by someone banging on the door. "Hey newbie, We're ready to plan the raid tonight. You have 30 minutes to finish up in there". 

Both Eruk and Taki were startled by the sudden sound. "Listen Taki" Eruk said "You know what they think we were doing, right?" she swallowed hard and nodded. Eruk continued "We have to make it look like they were right" He stepped forward, and knelt down "listen we need to make this look realistic" She was a bit scared, but she agreed. A few minutes later, Taki was lying on the floor, covered in Eruk's cape, but with some of her clothes torn, to give the impression that she had been struggling against him. "Don't worry Taki, I'll do everything I can to get you out of here" Eruk assured her before knocking on the door. "OK guys, You can let me out now" he shouted. 

A bandit opened the door "So had a pleasant night? That girl is a real beauty right?" Eruk maintained a cold attitude "Cut the chatter, I'm here to work" his expression softened "but if you're going to sell her, perhaps I'll make a nice offer". 

He was taken into a room where the boss and a few others were planing the raid. They looked up as he entered. "So there you are, glad it turned out that I could trust you" the boss said. Eruk just looked at him "Yeah, well, whatever. Lets just get down to business, ok?" The plan was fairly simple, One team was to occupy the guards at the gate. Another team was to slow down any reinforcements while the last team would go for the treasure. Eruk got on the last team. "I have just one question" Eruk said "Are we going for something special, or just anything valuable?" The boss looked him over "You just grab anything that looks valuable, but if you happen to find an amulet that looks like this, then a friend of ours in the town of Xen would pay good money for it", The boss held up a picture of an amulet. It looked like a fairly ordinary piece of jewelry, but it had an extraordinary beautiful green jewel embedded in the middle. 

The plan had been made, and now the only thing left to do was waiting. Eruk spent most of his time alone, secretly writing down all the information he had gathered about the gang. He knew that he couldn't just stay in the palace during the raid, that would be to obvious. The time finally came. Eruk was waiting along with the rest of the team. The signal for attack had been given, and the first wave were already fighting at the gate. It was almost time for his own charge. "OK boys! Lets go!" it was easy to hear the boss's voice, even through the sound of battle. Eruk ran forward with the rest of his team, through the gate. They didn't meet much resistance. The way to the treasure chamber was clear. 

The chamber itself were filled with all kinds of artifacts. The bandits quickly spread out and started gathering valuables. Eruk's eyes fell on the amulet he had seen on the picture, but just as he reached for it he heard the booming voice of the boss, "Hey, nice work newbie, you can expect a nice bonus when we get back". Eruk nodded, and threw the amulet to him. "OK boys we've done what we came here to do, let's get out of here" he shouted. The bandits started to pull back. Eruk made sure that he was the last one to leave the room. When no one was looking he threw the note that he had made earlier, and hurried after the others. 

Back at the base the loot was gathered and the bandits were counted to see if anyone was missing. The losses had been extremely small, only one was missing. "Well, too bad for him" the boss said. A noise was heard from the entrance. It sounded like someone were fighting. Most of the people turned their attention towards the sound. They relaxed when they saw that it was the missing bandit. He seemed to be struggling with somebody. Eruk watched in stunned silence. The bandits dragged a familiar person with him. "Hey boss" he shouted "I found this one in the shrine, she'll fetch a nice price, or perhaps we could keep her as a pet". He threw the person into the middle of the room. Just as Eruk had feared, it was Sylphiel. 

The boss looked at her "You're right, she is a pretty thing" He laughed, and turned towards her "Hey there sweetie wanna play with me tonight?" Eruk was happy that she hadn't seen him yet, he needed an idea, before he made himself known. _"These people are ruthless. Gotta take a chance"_. Eruk stepped forward, "hold it right there". He turned to the boss, "you promised me a bonus. I want that girl, and the one from my cell". 

All the bandits stared at him in surprise, no one ever talked back to the boss. "I respect you recklessness, newbie, I have no use for the girl from your cell, but you can't have this one until I'm done with her" the boss said, it was obvious that he was angry. Eruk shook his head "From what I can see, she is dressed like a shrinemaiden from New Sairaag. That means that I can get a good price for her, if she's unharmed. I'm not going to turn down this chance for a profit". Eruk and the boss were staring daggers at each other. "Fine, you win." The boss said "you'll get both of them. just go get the one from the cell". 

Eruk walked forward towards Sylphiel. "You'll come with me" he said and dragged her to her feet. She screamed when her grabbed her. He knew that he was using more force than he had to, but there was no way he could let anyone know that the two of them actually knew each other. He pushed her in front of him down towards the prison. He had some trouble remembering which cell he had been in, but he finally found it. Just as he opened the door, he heard the sound of someone running behind him. Before he had time to react he was pushed into the cell. Acting on instinct he reached out to Sylphiel, he got hold of her and dragged her inside along with him. 

Taki had been sleeping when Eruk stumbled into the room. He struggled to maintain balance, but failed. He fell on top of her, and dragged Sylphiel down with him. Taki screamed, she hadn't expected to be woken up like that. Eruk quickly got himself together. He grabbed hold of the frightened girls shoulder, "Taki. Taki it's me, Eruk, remember?". She stopped screaming, and opened her eyes. "E… Eruk? Is that really you?". He let go of her, "yeah, I'm back to get you out, just like I promised, now just calm down, ok?". 

He turned to Sylphiel "Sylphiel, why are you here?" She was just sitting on the floor "I… I just went into the shrine for a quick prayer, when that guy came up behind me. I was so scared, I couldn't do anything". He looked her into the eyes, "I'll admit that I haven't been planing on you showing up here, but at least we're together again". She nodded in agreement. "Helloooo, I'm still in the room, you know" Taki's voice made them snap out of their little reunion. They both turned away from each other, both blushing a bit. "Eruk, do you mean you know that girl?" Taki asked. Eruk nodded "yeah I do, I owe her my life. We have been travelling together for quite a while now". Taki seemed to understand "Oh I see, she's your girlfriend right" both Eruk and Sylphiel denied that on the strongest. Taki giggled a bit, "Whatever you two lovebirds say". 

Eruk decided to ignore the somewhat cherry teenager for the time being. " Sylphiel, I'm really sorry for what I did out there, but I couldn't blow my cover" he stared out, Sylphiel didn't react to his words, but she seemed to be mumbling something. Eruk couldn't understand her and got a little closer. Before he could do anything she slapped him on the side of his head. He fell back, She had never done anything like that before. At the same time Sylphiel realized what she had done, and rushed to his side "Oh my, I'm so sorry about that, I… I don't know why I did that" she shouted. Eruk got up, rubbing his cheek. "Don't worry about it, I was pretty rough with you out there, I guess I deserve it". She had started crying again, "I know, but still…" He cut her off "I said don't worry about it. Sometimes that is the best way to get things out of your system". 

He turned serious, and eyed both of his female friends, "I'm afraid that my cover is blown. We have to find some way to get out of here, and I'm have a feeling that we have to hurry, these guys wouldn't think twice about killing us". _Or to be more exact, they are probably gonna kill me and have some "fun" with you before killing or selling you, _He thought. He quivered a bit, there was no way he was going to let that happened. 

They all sat down trying to figure out a way to get out. Taki suddenly jumped up. "I know! How about one of us acted sick! I bet that'll do the trick". Sylphiel giggled a bit "I don't think such an old trick is going to work, do you Eruk?" Eruk looked deep in thought, and didn't hear the question. Sylphiel tapped his shoulder "Do you have an idea Eruk? She asked. He didn't answer at once, but then said "It just isn't enough to get out of this room. There are many bandits out there, and I won't be able to beat all of them". He turned to Sylphiel "you can cast the dragon slave. Can it be done underground?" She shook her head "I think that would be too dangerous, it would probably destroy this complex, and even hurt somebody. I… I can't do that". He had expected something like that. "And how about you, Taki, do you have any fighting skills?" The teenager looked a bit pale "no, I have never been in a fight". Eruk understood, and continued " It would seem our best bet is to wait here until somebody at the palace finds the note I left, and sends somebody to save us. We can just hope that we are left alone until then". 

Taki was in shock " That is your plan? What if nobody comes to save us? What if they kill us, or do something nasty to us?" Eruk sat down in front of her "Taki, I won't let anything happen to you or Sylphiel. Not as long as I'm alive". He looked at Sylphiel and continued "even if I die, I'm sure Sylphiel will be able to protect both of you with her magic". Taki looked at Eruk, then at Sylphiel. Both of them had straight faces. Sylphiel was struggling to keep up her appearance, she was terrified, but she had to keep calm, to prevent Taki from panicking. As a shrinemaiden she was trained to hide her emotions, when dealing with people. It was a necessary to learn that skill, when she was dealing with fatally ill people or people who had lost loved ones. That kind of people deserved better than a crying priestess. 

"I guess you are right…" Taki finally said. Eruk sat down with his back on the door. "You two try to relax, get some sleep if you can. If anybody tries to get into the room while I'm sitting here, I will feel it, Ok?" The girls sat down at the opposite wall. There they would be facing whoever got into the room. They started talking, Eruk couldn't hear what they said, but he figured that they were trying to get to know each other, after all they had never met before, and probably never would have, if it hadn't been for him. He hoped they would be friends, as he didn't need any disagreements if things turned bad, and he had a pretty strong felling that it would.

Authors Notes:

It would seem that whining helps a lot when fishing for reviews. Thank you very much Slayers Otaku-Girl!!!! A review for every chapter so far? That's great!. You think I'm leaving this story with many unanswered questions? Well, it's that kind of thing that makes people read on, right? A great thanks to you too, Ratmonkey.

So we have ourselves a very long chapter here, I was thinking of splitting it up, but decided against it after all. A new OC is introduced here. Yes, Taki will stick around. She's actually a part of the original show, as an extremely minor character.

Now, will they be able to escape on their own, or will they get some help? Like always, you have to read on to find out!


	10. Return of the chimera

Disclaimer: Come on, I said this at the beginning of the last chapter. I own nothing.

Return of the chimera

Thank you Mr. Zelgadis

Time passed slowly. The girls had stopped talking, and were now sleeping. Eruk too, was drifting into sleep. He wasn't completely asleep, but he didn't notice the noise from outside. He didn't feel the explosion behind him before it was to late. 

The force threw him up against the opposite wall. He heard the sound of running, but then lost his focus. He was sitting in a daze, not sure what to do. He snapped out of it when he heard Taki scream, "Get away from me you demon". He stumbled to his feet, and charged forward to help her. He did notice that her attacker had a vaguely familiar shape, but didn't give it much thought until he made a punch at his enemy. The pain in his hand was almost unbearable. 

The man turned around. "Mister Zelgadis!" Sylphiel shouted. Eruk stumbled back. _Zelgadis? That strange bountyhunter chimera? What was he doing here?_. Taki was still screaming, and trying to get away. Zelgadis moved away from her and pulled up his hood and mask, "Sylphiel take care of this girl" he shouted. Eruk had finally regained his senses. He ran over to the chimeras side "Mister Zelgadis, why are you here?" he asked. The chimera didn't even look at him "I'm here to get you out of course. Now are you going to stay there all day, or are you going to escape?". 

Eruk didn't have time to respond before a group of bandits rushed into the cell. The fight was on. Eruk did his best to hold back the 2 bandits that attacked him. They weren't really that good fighters, but in his current condition he had trouble holding them back. He had time to look at Zelgadis, he didn't even seem to break a sweat. Eruk focused on his own battle. He blocked and attacked continuously, and he managed to drive his attackers back. 

Zelgadis pushed forward, the bandits didn't seem like they were a challenge for his swordsmanship. Eruk made a wild swing and took one of the bandits out. With only one opponent left, he felt more confident. Zelgadis made short work of the last 3 bandits with a flare arrow. Now the only one left of the bandits was the one Eruk was fighting. Zelgadis charged forward, using his demonic speed and knocked the bandit out cold. "That should take care of them for the moment, now let's get out of here" Zelgadis shouted and started running out of the cell. Sylphiel quickly got up and followed him. 

Eruk followed, but stopped. Taki was missing. He couldn't just leave her. He turned back, and found her hiding in a corner. She was shaking. Eruk grabbed her hand "come on, Taki, we have to get out of here now!", he cast a recovery spell on himself as he spoke. "That was a monster, a real mazuko" she kept on mumbling to herself. Eruk pulled her to her feet "I'll explain later, just trust me". She nodded and got up. 

Eruk led her outside, there was no sign of Zelgadis and Sylphiel, except the bandits lying dead or knocked out. 

They made it to the hallway the contained the entrance to the hideout. The secret door was open, Zelgadis and Sylphiel had escaped already. "Come on Taki, we're almost out of here" Eruk looked back to make sure she was following him. "Eruk! look out!" she screamed. He turned just in time to see someone swinging a huge sword at him. He hit the ground as fast as he could. The sword missed him by inches. It was the bandit boss. 

The huge man charged forward and made a powerful backhand swing at Eruk. He was hit in the chest, and thrown up against the wall. He got back on his feet "you got me by surprise there, don't push your luck *boss*" he warned. He was not in perfect health, but he was convinced that he could beat this opponent as well. "Don't make me laugh newbie, I have taken out stronger opponents than you" the boss laughed. 

Eruk knew he had to rely on his speed, it was obvious that he couldn't match his opponents raw physical strength. The bandit made another swing with his sword, Eruk nimbly dodged it and made an attack to his legs. The claws left 3 bloody marks across the right knee. The bandit was in pain, but he didn't have any intention of loosing. This time Eruk made the first attack, he made a slashing attack with his right hand. The attack pushed the bandits sword out of the way, just as he had hoped it would. Using the velocity he had build up during his first strike, he spun around and made a left hand backhand slash. The strike connected directly with the bandits troath. The boss got a surprised look on his face, and dropped dead. 

He grabbed hold in Taki and ran forward. Taki was unprepared for this and fell, right next to the dead bandit. She was laying down for a few seconds, then got up and followed Eruk through the sewers. 

The tunnels were pretty dark, but Eruk was pretty sure where he was going. He found the place the gang had used as an entrance. He climbed up the stairs and pushed the cover away. He was almost blinded by the sun, all he could se was a lot of legs. He was ready to fight for his life, but then realized that the legs belonged to some of the soldiers from the palace. They reached down and pulled him out. "Thanks guys" he said "there is a girl behind me, could you help her as well?". A few second later, Taki was pulled out of the sever. She passed out shortly after. A guard caught her before she could hit the ground. 

Sylphiel rushed to her side, and looked at her "no need to worry, she is just exhausted". Eruk went over and picked her up "is there anywhere I can borrow a bed for this poor girl?" he asked the guards. The 4 bandit slayers were escorted to the palace. There Eruk was shown a room he could put Taki in until she woke up.

In the throneroom, Eruk and Sylphiel were told the story of how Zelgadis had arrived just after Sylphiel had been captured. He had agreed to help out pretty fast, even though some of the guards heard him muttering something about how Amelia would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't.

Authors notes:

I think that was the shortest chapter so far. Not much to say on this one, but keep on reading.

In the next chapter Eruk and co. will be facing something far worse than bandits and assassins. They will be facing an enraged Lina Inverse!! Oh the horror!!!! Ok, maybe she's not enraged, just a little upset, but knowing Lina, that's bad enough.


	11. The sorceress?

Yet another Disclaimer: You know what this means, Right? I make no money on this.

The sorceress?

A dinner of reunion

After the small assembly Eruk and Sylphiel were shown a couple of rooms they could use during their stay in Seyruun. The rooms were located in the same hallway as the one they put Taki in. Sylphiel wanted to go to the castle baths. She said something about her feeling dirty after her stay in the sewer. Eruk understood perfectly, he kind of felt the same way. They agreed that she would go to the baths first, and Eruk would wait in Taki's room. There should be somebody there when she woke up. He sat down on a chair by the bed. He usually didn't like to be alone like this, with nobody to talk to and nothing to do. It made him think too much. 

__

How long has it been? Since I woke up in that forest. Almost half a year, I think. I wonder if I'll ever find out who I really am. It's not like I don't like my life as it is, I just would like to find out if I have any relatives or anybody else searching or waiting for me. I have seen quite a lot during our travels, but nothing seems familiar to me. 

He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts. _Enough of this. I'm sure it will all come back in time. I should concentrate on the present, not the past._ He smiled a bit, and patted a small pouch that hang in his belt. He was planing on inviting Sylphiel and Taki out for dinner, just to celebrate that this entire mess was over with. He had asked Phill for a small reward with that in mind. He just hoped that Taki would wake up soon. Almost as on command, Taki started mumbling something, and slowly opened her eyes. 

He snapped out of his thoughts, and turned his attention to the former waitress. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked her. She didn't answer right away, instead she was looking around in the room. "Where am I?" she asked him. He placed his hand on her shoulder "You are safe now, we are in the Seyruun palace" he said "this is your room for as long as you need it" She was a bit surprised . She had never imagined that she would ever find herself sleeping in the palace, let alone to have her own room there. 

Eruk stood up "you should take it easy for the time being, try to relax, ok?". Taki sat up "I can't be lying here all day, this is just too exiting". He threw her a robe, "you can use this until you get some new clothes. If you want to take a bath, I can show you where it is". She jumped up "that would be great". He showed her through the hallways to the bath. "Here we are. You just go inside, and I'll try to find some clothes for you". 

She did as he suggested, and he turned to leave. He didn't make it far before he heard a loud splash. _Go ahead. Enjoy yourself, you deserve it. _He thought, smiling a bit to himself. 

He walked away looking for a maid. As he walked around a corner he almost bumped into Zelgadis and Amelia. "Oh, sorry about that" he said, and moved away to allow them to pass. Amelia stopped "don't worry about it, but why are you here, Mr. Eruk? Shouldn't you be watching that girl you brought here" she asked. "Don't worry about her, princess, she just woke up. I showed her to the baths, and promised her to find some new clothes for her. Would it be possible for you to help me out?" Eruk asked the princess. 

She turned to her chimera companion "I'll go with Mr. Eruk, see you later Mr. Zelgadis". Zelgadis walked on "you can find me in the library, as usual", was his only comment. Eruk looked after him for a moment, then turned back to the young princess "cherry fellow, that Zelgadis". Amelia laughed a bit "don't worry about him, Mr. Eruk, he just like playing the part as the cold and mysterious swordsman. Now what can I do for you?" she asked. Eruk still didn't feel quite right when dealing with Amelia. She was a nice enough girl, but he didn't exactly know how to act when dealing with royalty. 

"I need someone to help me find some clothes for Taki, I kinda ruined her old ones". Amelia stopped walking and eyed him suspiciously "WHAT! What do you mean? Exactly how did you ruin her clothes?". Feeling that one of the infamous justice-speeches, he had heard so much about was coming, he quickly explained how he met Taki and why he had ruined her clothes. "Oh, now I see… You had me scared there for second. Ok, let's go find your friend some clothes" Amelia said, and almost dragged the young warrior along with her. She quickly gathered some clothes, and dragged Eruk back to the baths. "Amelia, just one more favor. Could you go give her the clothes? I can't just go in there" he said "Oh, and don't tell her who you are, in case she don't know. She's still trying to get used to the thought of being in a palace, meeting the princess may upset her". 

Amelia went into the baths, and Eruk sat down outside waiting for them to come out. He didn't have to wait for long, The two girls came out. Taki was wearing emerald green shirt, and a knee-length skirt. "Tadaaa, make over complete" Amelia said, and flashed a victory sign in his direction. He smiled to himself, the Seyruun princes was just as hyper as he had heard. He turned his attention to Taki "looks good on you Taki" he said. Taki smiled, she felt better already. She was safe now and didn't have to worry any more about the bandits. "I'll just excuse myself, Mr. Zelgadis is waiting for me in the library" Amelia said and walked off, waving back at them. 

They looked at her until she was out of sight "Listen Taki, did you see Sylphiel in there?" Eruk asked. "Sylphiel? You mean she is here too?" Taki was surprised "No, I didn't see her anywhere". _She must have left before we got here, I can probably find her in her room._ Eruk thought. "Taki, would you care to have dinner with Sylphiel and me? I thought we could celebrate that we got out of this alive." He asked her. She looked happy, then a sad expression appeared on her face. "I would love to, but I wouldn't want to intrude on you two, and I don't have any money either". He laughed a bit "Don't worry about intruding, I was planing this for your sake as well. And about the money, I managed to get a handsome reward from prince Phill, so no worries there, it's my treat". Takis smile grew, "So you wanna go?" he asked. She happily agreed. "I'll come get you later then. And you're free to pick whatever clothes you wanna wear, a maid should drop by to help you. I'll see you later, you just check out the palace if you want" Eruk left her and headed for Sylphiels room. 

He knocked on the door to announce his arrival "Sylphiel? I'm coming in". He waited a bit before opening the door. She was sitting in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. She jumped a bit when she saw his reflection in the mirror. "Eruk? When did you come in here?" she asked. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I did knock, I guess you didn't hear me" he said. She blushed a bit, I'm sorry. I was just sitting in my own thoughts". 

He went over and sat down on the bed. "I was just wondering if you would join Taki and me for dinner tonight", he said. "Her expression saddened a bit, "you… and Taki?" she was glad her hair covered most of her face right now, he shouldn't se how she felt. "I don't want to intrude. And you shouldn't invite me if it's just pity!". He was taken by surprise, he had never heard her talk like that before. "Hold it right there Sylphiel" he got up and walked over to the shrinemaiden. "I don't follow you at all right now, you don't think me and Taki are…?" 

She too stood up, and turned around. "I can't blame you, she's a pretty girl" her voice was bittersweet. By now Eruk was almost in a state of shock "Hold it for a second there, there is nothing between me and Taki. I just wanted to invite both of you out to celebrate that we all got through this entire bandit mess alive". She sat back down, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into me". He knelt down beside her "don't worry about it, just come tonight, and we'll forget this entire conversation ever took place". She nodded "I will, and I'm sorry" He got up and started to leave "by the way, what is it with you two girls? She said the same thing about not wanting to interfere." He left the room. 

Back in his own room, he sat down on his bed. _What's going on between those two? I wonder if I could understand girls before I lost m memory. If that's the case, I sure could use that now._ He laid back and dozed off for a while. 

Evening came and it was time for him to get ready. After taking a bath, he found the clothes he was planing on wearing. It was nothing to fancy, a black shirt and deep blue pants. Like always he was wearing his wristblades, it had become a habit. He couldn't help but silently thanking Gen for giving him a weapon that could be disguised that easily. As he came out of his room, he saw Zelgadis waiting for him. "Hi, Mr. Zelgadis. What brings you here?" he said. The chimera looked straight at him. Somehow Eruk did always feel uneasy around Zelgadis, there were just something about him. It wasn't like he was afraid, there was just a strangely familiar feeling. "I just thought you should know, Sylphiel is waiting for you downstairs. I don't know about that other one, but I'll imagine she'll be down soon too". Having said what he wanted to say, Zelgadis turned to leave. "Thanks for telling me" Eruk said, just before the shaman turned down the hallway leading to the library. Eruk figured that he'd better get downstairs, and left his room. 

Just as Zelgadis had told him, Sylphiel was sitting on a bench just below the stairs. She was wearing a green dress, that matched her emerald eyes. He stopped walking for a moment, and looked at her. It was the first time he actually had seen her wearing a dress. He had to admit that he wished she'd do that more often, it really suited her. 

"Hi, ready to go?" he asked when he got all the way down the stairs. She nodded "Yes. And Taki should be here any minute now". Just as she finished talking, Taki came running down the stairs. "Sorry I'm late. I'm not used to choosing between that much clothes. So how do I look?" She spun around to give them a better look at her. The outfit she had chosen was a dark blue dress and a purple shirt, around her neck Eruk noticed a golden chain. "Come on, come on!! Let's go. I'm starving" the happy teenager was almost dancing around them. Eruk couldn't help but look at her in stunned silence. It was almost unbelievable that this was the same girl he had met in a dark prison cell. 

The restaurant he had chosen was known as one of the best in Seyruun. It was fairly late, so there weren't that many visitors at the time they arrived. They sat down at their table. Taki was in state of pure bliss "Whoa!!! I have never been at such a fancy place before. I sure could get used to this". Both Eruk and Sylphiel were impressed too, this place really was something. "You can chose whatever you want" Eruk said, and handed both of the girls a menu "This money should be able to cover almost anything". Taki immediately took the card and started browsing through it. Sylphiel was a little more hesitant, but accepted the card and started to look through the pages. 

"So, are you ready to order, sir?" a waiter asked Eruk. "I think I'll have the special chicken platter, how about you girls?" Eruk said. Sylphiel chose the Seyruun stew, and a salad. "Oh, what to chose? what to chose?" Taki mumbled to herself "I'll just take what my friends are having. Make my order a chicken platter like he's having, and a salad like her" she finally decided. "Very well" the waiter wrote it all down on a piece of paper, "would you like to have something to drink as well?" he continued on. "I'll just have water" Eruk and Sylphiel said in unison. Taki looked displeased, "come on, don't be so boring! We're celebrating. Waiter, could we have a bottle of Zephilian wine, please?". The waiter was busy writing "Very well. I'll bring you your drinks at once" he said, and walked into the kitchen. Sylphiel looked at Taki "are you sure you should have wine Taki? People sometimes do weird things when they get drunk". 

Taki almost collapsed in laughter "come on now Sylphiel. Don't be such a boring old shrinemaiden. It's not like I'm going to drink an entire bottle of serpent brew". 

"Yeah, I suppose she's right" Eruk agreed, trusting the former waitresses experience with alcohol, "but please stop me if I go for second's, I don't need my head to be anymore messed up than it already is". Even Sylphiel seemed to agree, even though the wasn't used to drinking wine. Taki padded his shoulder "come on now, you're not that messed up. I mean, you ruined my clothes back there, that isn't messed up, that's just plain dirty and perverted. But then again, I AM a beautiful innocent girl, so…". 

Eruk looked mildly irritated "just cut it out, ok? That's not what I mean". While they were talking the waiter had returned with their drinks. Taki raised her glass, "This is to us, for escaping with our lives" she quickly emptied her glass. Eruk only took a sip, and Sylphiel drank half of hers. "Now while we wait for our food, why don't you tell me some of yourself, like you promised to, Eruk?" Taki said "and perhaps you can tell me, just how your head is messed up. If you think my innocent ears can handle it" she giggled. 

He sighed "Well, the story of my life is pretty short. For about a ½ year ago I somehow got hurt in the forest of New Sairaag. I was brought to Sylphiel, who healed me. I lived with her for about 6 months, then we were forced to leave" that is pretty much the story of my life. Taki didn't understand "You only told me of your life with Sylphiel, surely that can't be all. Where were you born?" she asked. "Actually, what I have told you is all I know" he answered "I don't have any memory of my life before then, I don't even remember my real name". Taki were really surprised "you have amnesia? That's why you said your head was messed up?" she asked. He merely nodded as an answer. 

Eruk noticed how Sylphiel was left out of the conversation, and changed the subject "Sylphiel, what are our plans now? Do we stay here or do we keep travelling?". She jumped a bit in her seat, she hadn't expected to be drawn into the conversation like that. "I don't know" she answered "I just wanted to go somewhere safe. What do you plan on doing?". He shrugged his shoulders "Haven't really thought about it, I guess I'll go along with your decision". She blushed a bit. Even though she had been with him a long time now, she wasn't used to people caring about her like he did. "Ah, the power of love" Taki said in a singsong tone. Both Eruk and Sylphiel blushed, but before they could say anything the waiter came with their meals. "There you go, please enjoy" he said and left. 

They started eating. The food really was outstanding. "This is almost as good as your cooking Sylphiel" Eruk said. Sylphiel giggled a bit "oh you don't mean that" she said. He nodded "you are right, this is better than what you have made while we were travelling, but I have seen you do miracles in a kitchen, nobody can beat you there". The time passed as they ate their dinner. They were talking about a lot of things. Eruk had noticed that somewhere in the room, a girl were complaining about something. He couldn't hear everything, but her voice grew louder and louder. 

He scouted the room trying to figure out where the dissatisfied customer were. From where he was, he had some difficulty in pinpointing the sound, but it seemed to come from a red-haired girl in the other end of the room. He continued to watch the scene, while Sylphiel and Taki were talking. The redhead suddenly grabbed the waiter, and seemingly threatened him. He was waving wildly in Eruk's direction. The red-haired girl got up and was stomping over towards Eruk. "Sylphiel, don't turn around, but I think we might have a small problem. Just act naturally, and let me take care of it" he said, trying to look as normal as possible. 

The approaching girl stopped right behind Sylphiels chair. "Good evening miss" Eruk said "can I help you with anything?" The girl gave him a menacing look "Yeah, I wanna know, how dare you order the last chicken dinner in stock?" Sylphiel suddenly spun around "Miss Lina? Is that you?". The redhead jumped back in surprise "SYLPHIEL! How? Why? What?" The surprise of the two girls were nothing compared to the surprise Eruk felt "Sylphiel you mean to tell me you know her as well?" he asked. She stood up and took a step back. She could now look at both of them "of course. This is the one I have told you so much about. This is Lina Inverse". 

A loud bang was heard. It was Taki, who fell out of her chair " You mean THAT is Lina Inverse? Lina the bandit killer? Eruk let's get out of here, I have heard some terrible stories about her". Taki tried to get back on her feet, and run away at the same time. "yeah, and most of them are true too" a voice came from behind her. She couldn't see the person who spoke, but she didn't have time to care. She was suddenly pulled to her feet. She spun around to face whoever it was who had approached her. All she could see was a black breastplate. 

The man was very tall, at least a head taller than Eruk. He had a kind face though, and incredibly long golden hair. "don't worry kid, just don't upset her, and you might be able to walk away without a scratch" he whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. Lina gave him a menacing look "Gourry, what have I told you about adding to my bad reputation?" she asked sweetly. The blond man looked dumbfounded at her "I don't know. I guess I wasn't paying attention". Lina looked like she was ready to kill him, or in the very least hurt him badly. 

"Gourry dear!" Sylphiel spun around. He eyed the shrinemaiden "Oh hi, miss… uh?". Lina gave him a tired look "Come on Gourry, don't tell me you don't remember Sylphiel! It's only been a couple of years". The blonde warriors face lit up "Oh yeah, now I remember! So how's life as a princess?" Sylphiel blinked a couple of times in confusion, her? A princess? Lina gave him another of her famous do-I-have-to-explain-everything? looks "Gourry you jellyfishbrain! Amelia is the princess! This is Sylphiel, remember? From Sairaag, always calling you Gourry dear? Come on you have to remember her". He blinked a couple of times. Lina threw up her hands "she's a great cook". That seemed to do the trick "Oh yeah! Now I remember! Sylphiel how have you been?" 

Eruk looked at his purple-haired friend "It seems like you know everybody we meet, why don't you ever warn me?" he asked in mock depression. "Oh that's right. Sylphiel who are your friends?" Lina gestured to Eruk and Taki. "Oh, sorry about that miss Lina, I was just so surprised to see you here, I almost forgot my manners. This is miss Taki" She gestured to the teenage girl on the other side of the table. "Hi! I'm Takiana, but just call me Taki. Wow, are you really THE Lina Inverse!?" Taki seemed to have gotten over her first shock, and was being her usual happy self. Lina gestured to Eruk "and who's this young fellow, your boyfriend maybe?" 

Sylphiel almost choked on her drink "NO! _Cough _it's just _Cough_…" She was almost unable speak. Eruk extended his hand to the red-haired sorceress "Hello miss Lina, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm called Eruk. And no, I'm not her boyfriend, I like to think of myself as her guardian". Lina nodded, but didn't stop smiling "whatever you say. As you already know I'm the beautiful, young sorcery genius Lina Inverse, and this airhead" she gestured to her blond companion "Is Gourry Gabriev". 

"Miss Lina, may I ask what brings you to Seyruun?" Sylphiel asked, after she finally had swallowed her drink. "Come on now, Sylphiel. Even you must have heard of the bandits terrorizing this city. We are here to clear them out, and to claim any treasure they may have, of course" Linas eyes were starry, when she thought about treasure. "Um, miss Lina? I think you are a little to late" Sylphiel said quietly. Lina slapped her on the back "come on now Sylphiel, don't be like that. You don't mean to tell me some amateur adventures have beaten ME to the treasure". Eruk laughed a bit " I'm afraid WE are those amateurs, miss Lina" he said "we got involved in this, and helped sort it out, of course we had some help from the palace, and from a certain chimera, I believe you know". 

They went on to telling Lina and Gourry, how they had managed to put and end to the gang. Lina didn't look all to convinced. "WOW, so that means you are going to call yourself Sylphiel the bandit killer now?" Gourry asked, but was quickly slapped silent by Lina "Of course she isn't". Eruk cut in on the conversation "Actually we are celebrating right now, why don't you sit down and join us?" he asked. Lina quickly grabbed Gourry "Sure, we'll just go find our waiter and tell him where to find us ". As Lina stomped of, dragging Gourry behind her, Sylphiel leaned in and whispered in Eruk's ear "Are you sure we can afford this? They can eat quite a lot". He laughed a bit of her concern "don't worry about it Sylphiel, I think we could live a month on this money". 

They didn't have time to talk anymore about that subject, as Lina and Gourry were back. Lina was already gesturing like mad to get the waiters attention. "Hey mister, I'll have everything on the menu" she shouted. "And I'll have this and this and this and this" Gourry were pointing away in his menu "and could you double-size it?". Eruk was petrified _how can they possibly eat that ridiculous amount of food?_. Sylphiel sent him a look that almost screamed "Told you, didn't I?". They could only watch in silent shock as Lina and Gourry were fighting over the food. About 15 minutes later the table was empty. 

Eruk was mentally calculating the expenses, he now had some serious doubt that he had enough money. Lina sat back, looking satisfied, and looked at Eruk "you know, it's pretty ironic you end up travelling as Sylphiels guardian. Did you know that her fathers name was Eruk too?". He smiled a bit "yeah, actually I do. She has named me Eruk, in honor of him" Linas eyes went wide "Wait a minute! SHE has named YOU? Just who are you anyway?" He looked down, it still pained him that he didn't know about his past, "actually I don't know who I am" he answered truthfully. Lina blinked in confusion "you don't know who you are?" she rolled her eyes "man you're even worse than Gourry". Gourry looked a bit hurt "Now Lina, that's mean. I'm Gourry Gabriev! See, at least I know who I am" he declared loudly. Eruk shook his head, he decided to ignore Gourry's last comment. 

He looked to Sylphiel for help, seeing that she was the one who knew his story best, "Sylphiel why don't you tell her my story?" Sylphiel nodded, and proceeded to tell about everything that had happened. "Now I see" Lina said "Amnesia huh?". Eruk nodded. He turned to Taki, she had been awfully quiet ever since Lina and Gourry had joined them. "Taki why don't you tell them your story too? He asked. He got no answer, Taki was fast asleep, a strange bottle were standing in front of her. It was almost empty. "Did she drink this while we were talking?" he asked out loud to nobody in particular. "yeah she did" Gourry said "when Sylphiel started talking, this girl said something about being thirsty, so I went over and got her something to drink". Eruk picked up the bottle "wow, so this is the serpent brew she was talking about earlier, now I understand what she meant by Zephilian wine not being strong." He thought out loud. 

He went over and tried to get her to stand up. He failed. To him the only choice was to get her back to her room, and let her sleep it of. "I don't like to ruin a pleasant evening, but I think we should get her back to her room to sleep", he turned to the redhead "Could we talk on tomorrow?" Lina nodded. Eruk carefully sat Taki back down and found a waiter "I would like to pay the bill for that table." He gestured to the table they had occupied. The waiter quickly found a sheet of paper, and started calculating the cost of the dinner "that will be 497 goldpieces, Sir" Eruk nodded, bitterly knowing the reward he had gotten was 500 goldpieces. He handed over all his money "just keep the rest". 

He went back to the table and tried to wake up the drunk waitress "Hey Taki come on, we gotta get you back to the palace". He did get some indication that she understood, but she was definitely not awake. "Sylphiel could you give me a hand?" he asked. She got up and walked to Taki's left side, while Eruk supported her from the right. "We are staying at the palace, I'm sure miss Amelia and Mr. Zelgadis would be happy to see you" Sylphiel said as they left. Just before the walked out the door, Eruk heard Gourry calling "BYE Sylphiel, BYE uh Gruk?" He smiled a bit to himself, Sylphiel had told him Gourry was a little dense, but he had never expected something like this. 

They didn't say much on the way back, it was more than enough to try to keep Taki walking. They finally made it back to the palace. "I'll just put her in her bed" Eruk said "you just go to sleep to, Sylphiel. You also look like you could drop any minute". Sylphiel yawned "I think I'll do that. Thank you for a wonderful evening" She smiled as she entered her room. "No problem, Sylphiel, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Of course, now I'm broke, but it was worth it". He got into Taki's room, and put her on the bed. "Goodnight Taki" he said as he turned to leave. Just before he reached the door, he thought of something. _She was wearing some sort of necklace, I'd better get that of her, otherwise she could end up strangling herself. _

He turned back to the sleeping girl. The necklace was no longer hidden by her dress. He watched it for a while, _That… that is the necklace the bandits were after, How did she get it? Well no use wondering about it now, she can probably tell me tomorrow_. He reached for the golden chain, but strangely enough he couldn't get it off her. _What the hell is going on here? It's just a necklace, it should be no problem getting it off. Could it be some sort of magic? _He thought. He quickly went over to Sylphiels room and gently knocked the door. When he got no response, he opened the door and looked inside. Sylphiel had fallen asleep on her bed, still wearing her dress. He left the room, he couldn't just wake her up. _Well, whatever magic is in that necklace, it's probably also something that protects the wearer from getting strangled. _He thought. He went into his own room, and laid down on the bed. _I'll just sleep a little, then go check on her_. With that ringing through his mind, he fell asleep.

Authors notes:

Ahh yes another long chapter. So Lina and Gourry finally met up with Sylphiel and Eruk. That was what you had been waiting for, right? Now the big question is, what's the deal with Taki's necklace? Is it just a useless trinket or does it hide some special power?

I know that some of the slayers act a little OOC but this takes place about a year after try. I guess everybody just have grown up a little. Also I hope you like Taki, I had a lot of fun writing her.

Read on, ok? I'll try to update as fast as I can.


	12. Getting ready

Disclaimer: How about reading some of my previous disclaimers? I don't feel like making a new one.

Getting ready 

Another journey

The next morning he was awoken by someone hammering loudly on his door. He slowly opened his eyes, Taki was shaking him like mad. "Eruk! Eruk wake up!". He was still a bit drowsy "huh? Taki what's wrong?". She almost climbed up on top of him, and showed him the amulet she was wearing "This is what's wrong" she shouted "That stupid thing won't come off". Eruk blinked "yeah, I know. I tried to get it off you after I carried you back last night". She almost shoved it into his face "Oh yeah? Then try again. This must be magic, you're a sorcerer right? Do something about it!". He pushed her a bit away "Listen Taki, I can do a bit of magic, but I'm nowhere near someone like Sylphiel or Zelgadis. I just know the basics." Taki had started shaking him again "then we go wake them up right now!". 

She jumped down from the bed, and started walking to the door "come on then, let's go". He sat up "Whoa hold it for a second, maybe you should go change your clothes first. That dress of yours smell just like some of that stuff you were drinking yesterday". She turned away in mock anger "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO A PERFECTLY SWEET AND INNOCENT GIRL LIKE ME!!" she cried. She immediately covered her ears "But I guess you are right." she admitted. She reached out for the door handle, still holding her sore head with her other hand. She turned around, and gave him a weak smile "You better get dressed too, you can't run around the palace in your pajamas you know" She walked out of the door. Eruk sat staring at the closed door for a few seconds "What, exactly, just happened here?" he asked himself out loud. 

He met Taki outside. After she had lectured Eruk on how rude it was to let a girl wait. They went to Sylphiels room, Taki knocked on the door "Sylphiel are you there? Helloooo?" she opened the door"hey she isn't here. Eruk why isn't she here?". He thought for a moment "I bet she has gone to the shrine, she usually do that in the morning. Let's just leave her be and go to the library". Taki looked at him funnily "why the library?" she asked. He started walking "I'm pretty sure that is where Zelgadis is". She shrugged and followed him. Before they reached their destination, she ran up in front of him and blocked his way "Say, just who is this Zelgadis you keep talking about?" she asked. He continued walking "don't you remember him? He saved us from those bandits". She shuddered a bit "I don't remember any GUY saving us, just some monster showing up and blasting everybody". He stopped and held her back "Listen to me, and listen good. That was Zelgadis. He's not a monster, but a chimera". She looked confused "it's all the same to me…". He continued to explain "I don't know much about chimeras, but I'm told Zelgadis once was human, but was transformed by Rezo the red priest. Now he's a mixture of human, golem and demon. He's very touchy about the way he looks, so whatever you do, don't stare at him, ok?". She nodded.

They reached the library. As they entered they got a surprise. The room was huge, none of them had ever seen such a big library. "We better split up and see if he's in here somewhere" Eruk said. Taki went to check out the left part of the room, and Eruk to went to the right. Eruk was heading directly for the part where he had heard the magic tomes where kept. His reason for splitting up was not to look for Zelgadis, but to find him first to warn him of a possible reaction from Taki. He found Zelgadis pretty fast. He was standing up against a wall, reading in a book. Eruk stood still for a second, not wanting interrupt. Zelgadis never looked up, but merely spoke "Do you have some business with me, or are you just here to stare at the freak?". 

Eruk quickly went up to him. "I do have some business with you" he said "you remember Taki from the bandit hideout right?" Zelgadis didn't respond, and Eruk went on "She has somehow gotten hold of a magic amulet from the treasury, the problem is, that it seems like it is impossible to remove, and I was wondering if someone with you knowledge of magic would be able to help her out". Zelgadis finally looked up from his book "I see. Very well then, where is she?" he asked. Eruk moved closer "I sent her to search for you in the other end of the library. I wanted to talk to you alone first". Zelgadis raised an eyebrow "Alone? Why?" he asked. Eruk was a little hesitant, then said "she might be afraid of you because of your… appearance. Could you please just ignore her if she stares at you?". Zelgadis didn't have time to answer, as Taki came running towards them, "There you are! Man, this library is HUGE". Her eyes fell on Zelgadis and she turned very quiet. Eruk quickly went over to her side "don't worry, just let him look at that amulet, and see if he can figure something out". 

Zelgadis took the piece of jewelry between his fingers and examined it closely "hmm that's strange…. It seems like it emits some anti-magic field. I would imagine there is a magically sealed lock inside the field. Fascinating, I have never seen anything like that before". Taki looked a bit pale "do that mean you can't remove it?" she asked. Zelgadis turned his back "there may be a way, but you won't like it". Taki grabbed his shoulder "what do you mean? if you can remove this thing then do it!". Zelgadis smiled a bitter smile "It seems like the thing keeping the magic working, is the wearers life-force. In other words, the most simple way to remove that thing… is for you to die…". She ran behind Eruk "don't you dare…". The smile on Zelgadis's face changed from bitter to slightly amused "there is no need to get scared, I didn't say I would kill you. There may be some other way to remove it, but I'm not sure what it could be". 

They where cut off by Amelia, who had just entered the room "Hello Mr. Zelgadis what are you talking about?" she asked. Eruk turned around "greetings princess, we where talking about this amulet" he said, and showed her the item in question. She looked at the amulet "what's so special about it?". They told her about the problem with the lock. Taki looked like she was about to cry "I just took it from a dead bandit, there's nothing wrong with that, right?". Eruk suddenly punched a bookshelf in anger, causing both of the girls to jump "Of course! How could I forget!". 

Amelia looked a bit shocked by his sudden anger "what's wrong Mr. Eruk?" He turned to face them "when I was with the bandits they told me that they where after that particular amulet. They said something about a *friend* in a town called Xen. I would think that if somebody where after it, they would also know how it works". "Huh? You mean those bandits had somebody supporting them?" Amelia asked. Eruk nodded "yeah, I'm afraid so. I had completely forgotten about it". Taki lightened up a bit "does that mean that I can get this thing off if I go to Xen?" Eruk nodded "I think so, but remember we are talking about someone that would use any means necessary to get what they want". Amelia struck a pose "We can't allow those who sponsor evil bandits go unpunished". As Amelia continued her justice speeches, Zelgadis turned to Eruk "great, there she goes again. Now that you mention Xen, I have some information about that dark counsel. It would seem they are connected to Xen as well". Eruk looked down "I guess that means I should go there, to clear things up". Taki came to his side "then I'll come with you". He stared at her, disbelieving "you know this could get pretty dangerous Taki" he asked. She nodded. Amelia struck another pose "in the name of justice, Mr. Zelgadis and I will join you, and put an end to that evil scheme once and for all". Zelgadis started to say something, but a harsh glare from Amelia made him shut up. Eruk smiled a bit "thanks you guys, now please excuse me, I have to go". He turned and left the library. _I guess this means I have to leave, I wonder how Sylphiel is gonna take this? _He thought, as he approached the small palace shrine. 

When he entered the shrine he saw her praying in front of a statue of Ceiphied, the dragon god. He slowly approached her "Sylphiel?" She jumped a bit "Oh good morning Eruk". He walked up to her side and knelt down, like her. She looked to his side "you look upset" she said. He nodded "I have to leave Seyruun". She stood up "but why?" she asked "we are safe here". He stood up to face her "I know, but Zelgadis have given me some information on the dark counsel, they have some connection to a town called Xen. The bandits we helped defeat here were also connected to that town. I think I'm right in the middle of something big here, I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with my amnesia". She was silent for a second, then smiled "when are we leaving?" Eruk was dumbfounded "We? You don't have to come if you don't want to". She looked at him shyly "It would be unwise of me to be away from my bodyguard, so naturally if my bodyguard goes somewhere, so will I". She looked away from him "and I would miss you, if you left alone" she whispered. He didn't hear that last part. "We should start packing for the journey then" he said. 

They started to head for their rooms to gather their equipment. "Traveling once again" he said out loud "but this time will be different". She looked at him "different? What do you mean?" she asked. He laughed a bit "this time we aren't on the run, and we're not alone either". He told her what had happened in the library.

Some time later the small traveling party had gathered in the throneroom. Prince Phill were holding on of his famous speeches. Eruk was bored, he had never thought anyone could talk that much about the true essence of justice, he was even worse than his daughter. He was woken up by the door to the throneroom flying open. "Hi everybody!" a familiar voice called. Amelia was the first to turn around "Miss Lina? Mr. Gourry? What are you doing here?" she asked. 

Lina marched right up to them "We just wanted to say hi" she looked around "what's going on here? You look like you are going somewhere". Zelgadis stepped out from the shadows "yeah, we are going to wander all the way to the outer world, just to find a guy and have him remove a stupid necklace" his voice was dripping with sarcasm. Eruk started explaining things more detailed than Zelgadis had. Lina nodded, "so you are telling me, that you are going after somebody that sponsored the bandits here in Seyruun?" Eruk nodded, the bandits wasn't his primary concern, but it was one way of putting it. Lina looked like she was thinking "Alright, Gourry and I are coming too". Her statement took everybody by surprise. Lina merely smiled "You guys have already beaten me to one bounty, I can't let that happen again. Besides you would be helpless without me around". An hour later they left Seyruun.

Authors notes:

Here we go, another update. It's been a few days since the last one, but I'm doing my best to keep updating regularly. But I won't give everything away at once. Gotta have a little suspense, right?

Anyway, looks like the entire gang are going to the outer world. What will they find (beside a lot of trouble)?. Like always pleading won't do you any good, 'cause I'm still not telling. Read on and find out for yourself.


	13. A mysterious voice

Disclaimer: Me no own slayers. Period.

A mysterious voice

A secret revealed

"Say Lina, where are we going?" Gourry asked for the 5 time that day. "For crying out loud, Gourry" the small redhead shouted, and smacked him for the 5 time that day, "we are going to a town called Xen. Now before you even ask, Xen is a town in the outer world. We are going there to beat the hell out of some rich guy, and to help Sylphiels friend with some dark counsel". She sighed "but honestly, couldn't they find a more original name than *Dark counsel* I mean, talk about lousy imagination!" . Eruk was secretly amazed, he had never seen anyone get beaten like Gourry had been, and they had only been traveling for a day. "Don't worry about them" Zelgadis told him "They always act like that, and besides Lina would never hurt him, seriously". Eruk nodded, but continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of him. 

"I wish miss Lina would stop hurting poor Gourry-dear" Sylphiel said. She had tried to stop Lina beating up her blond friend, but was nearly caught in the crossfire. Amelia was busy trying to get Zelgadis to cheer up. The only one who didn't talk to someone was Taki, all day she had been walking alone. Eruk had noticed this and slowed down, to let her keep up with him. "what's the matter?" He asked "this isn't like you at all". She didn't answer at once, but then sighed "I'm just so tired, we have been walking for hours". Now that he had gotten a bit closer to her, it was easy to see that she was quite right, she was dragging her feet along the ground. "Just a bit longer" he assured her "I'll try to convince the others to take a break soon". He started to walk a bit faster to keep up with Lina and Gourry. "Excuse me, miss Lina" he said, as he caught up with her, "Taki can't keep walking like this, how far is it to the next town?". Lina flashed him a smile "Is she tired already? Well, we should be arriving at a town pretty soon now. Do you think she can keep going a bit further?". Eruk walked back to Taki and told her what he had just learned. "I guess, I just have to keep walking then" she didn't sound happy about it. The group kept moving on, and just like Lina had said, they could soon see a small town. 

They settled in at the local inn. It was still early afternoon. The girls had left to find Taki some better travelling clothes. For the entire day she had been wearing an old dress, and high heels. Eruk was sitting at the inn, talking with Gourry and Zelgadis. They were mostly talking about swords, just to make sure that Gourry wasn't left out of the conversation. Eruk hadn't thought much about Gourry's intelligence, but he had to admit that he was pretty smart when it came to this particularly field of study.

Night came, and it was time for dinner. Eruk made sure to put some distance between himself and Lina. "So Taki, did you get some better clothes?" he asked, trying to start a conversation to distract himself from the feeding frenzy at the other end of the table. She nodded as a response, but didn't say anything. He tried again "come on Taki, don't be so gloomy". She shook her head forcefully "sorry, I'm just so tired. I think I should go to sleep soon, if we are to walk all day tomorrow too". Sylphiel cut in on the conversation "Don't worry Taki, It'll only be bad the first few days, then you'll be used to it, it was the same for me too, you know".

Eruk stood up "I think I'll go to sleep now, see you all in the morning. He left the restaurant and went to his room.

The next morning he woke early, just like he had planned. He quickly stood up and got dressed. He knew that he had a couple of hours before breakfast, and he wanted to do a bit of workout. He had noticed yesterday that the inn had a small garden. He went out there and started practicing some fighting maneuvers. He thought back to when he was training with Gen. So much had happened since then. That time he just wanted to be able to take care of himself, he never even imagined that he would ever have to fight for his life. After having seen Zelgadis skill in battle he knew that he still had a long way to go. 

He started to do some moves, Gen had told him that it was important for him to find his own style. He still remembered how Gen used to say "If you fight just like everybody else, you'll end up losing". Eruk had always tried to train after that. He started a dancing maneuver. Instead of waiting for his opponent to attack him, he had learned to move fast, in a dance-like style. He really liked training, just to block everything out and just focus on his movements. 

"You are pretty good at that" he stopped to see who had spoken. It was Lina. He stopped to whipe the sweat from his forehead. "Well, I guess I'm getting better. But what are you doing up this early, miss Lina?" he asked. She walked over to him "I was just enjoying the sunrise, when I heard somebody out here". He started his training again, a little less concentrated this time. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked "I'm not to shabby with a sword, but it's been awhile since I have trained". Eruk nodded, training was always better with a partner. 

Much to his surprise, Lina actually was a very strong opponent. He had heard a lot of stories about her skills from Sylphiel, but all of them where about her magically abilities. He backed up a bit, and lowered his guard "Wow, I must admit that you are much stronger than you look" he said. Lina smiled a bit and charged forward. Her attack knocked him off his feet. She flashed him a victory sign, before extending her hand to help him up. He took her hand and allowed her to help him back on his feet, not that he really needed the help, but he saw it as a gesture of good will. "I guess this round goes to the incredible Lina Inverse" he said, as he dusted himself off. She didn't have time to respond, as Gourry came out of the inn. "HEY LINA!!" he shouted "BREAKFAST!!". Eruk didn't have time to do anything before she was running back. He merely shook his head, that girl was incredible. She could switch personality in a matter of seconds. 

He walked back to the inn, only to find Lina and Gourry eating like there was no tomorrow. He had noticed how Amelia had changed too, she no longer acted like the princess he thought he knew. She was acting more like a sister to Lina, of course with a strong sense of justice. It was obvious to him that she was trying to get as much food as possible, without getting hurt. He sat down next to Sylphiel. "Good morning" she said "you sure got up early". He started drinking a cup of tea "yeah, I was training, and got beaten by Lina". Sylphiel was shocked "you mean Lina beat you up?" she asked. He almost choked on his tea "No no nothing like that" he said, and explained how he had been practicing with Lina.

After breakfast they set out. On the way Lina told them that they where heading for a harbor town nearby. If they walked all day, they could probably reach it by nightfall. It was a nice day, not to cold, and not to hot either, perfect for walking. Even Taki was in good spirit, she had become quite good friend with Amelia over the last few days. Eruk looked at the two girls, Amelia was trying to teach Taki some posses and speeches of justice. Eruk laughed a bit himself, he couldn't imagine Taki actually trying to copy any of the princess's moves, but they had fun anyway. "It's nice to see that she has fund a friend" Sylphiel said, Eruk agreed. Somehow he had expected that they would get along, mainly because of their similar age. 

The day was fairly uneventful, except from Lina and Gourry's usual fight over the food. It was late when they arrived at the town. Lina insisted that they found an tavern as fast as possible. Both Gourry and Amelia agreed with her, and Zelgadis merely followed out of habit. Sylphiel and Taki found and inn, and got some rooms for all of them. The two girls were pretty tired, and settled with some of their traveling rations before going to sleep. Eruk had initially planned to go with Lina and the others, but changed his mind. All day he had felt like somebody was watching him. A few times he was almost certain that he saw a person from the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, there was noting. He hadn't told anybody of this strange feeling. 

Now he was standing on a field outside of the town. He was almost certain that his unknown stalker was around somewhere, he could feel it deep inside. "Why don't you stop hiding and come out here" he said out loud. There were no response at first, not that he had expected anything. "So, your powers have grown as far as this, have they?" the voice seemed to come from all around him. He had never heard anything like it before, even though he seemingly was in the middle of the whole thing, he was not sure if it was shouting or whispering to him through his heart. "Who are you?" he asked, he had gotten pretty uncomfortable by his situation. "Now now, you needn't worry about that, you can trust me" this time the voice sounded amused, unlike how Eruk felt right now. 

He pulled himself together "what do you want with me?", he was slowly getting ready to run away. The voice was silent for awhile, as if it wanted to scare him even more, "I'm just to watch over you for the time being". That didn't exactly calm him down, especially that part about "for the time being". He started to get scared out of his mind, there was something very wrong. He felt like he didn't have any other choice than to try a bluff "so, apparently you know a lot about me, but unless you can help me recover something about my past, you're useless to me" he tried to hide his feelings and find a chance to escape. "you can't hide anything from me, my dear half-breed" the voice mocked him "but I like your boldness, so I'll give you some advice. Just go on with you travels, and don't tell anybody about this conversation".

Eruk got into a fighting stance, not that he believed that the owner of the voice would show himself, but it gave him a bit of confidence. "My my, so violent" once again the voice was mocking him "your true feeling are becoming much more clear now. Go back to your friends, and remember, don't say a word about this, unless you want to force my hand". Eruk looked around more carefully this time "Are you threatening me?" he asked "Don't bother. Just come and get me". He wasn't as confident as he wanted to sound. The voice turned even darker "You don't have to worry, I'm under strict orders not to harm you, but…". Eruk shuttered this whole thing was really getting to him, he didn't really want to know, but he just had to ask "but what?". 

"But that doesn't mean your pretty purple-haired girlfriend can't get involved in some kind of accident". Eruk was shocked, he had not thought of any of the others as hostages, especially not Sylphiel. Eruk fell to his knees, he was beaten. There was no way he could defy the voice now. 

He raised his head a bit "what kind of monster are you?" he asked weakly. "that is a secret" it said, for some reason it seemed very amused. Eruk didn't say more, but he could fell the heavy atmosphere gradually disappear. It was all gone now. Eruk got up and started to run towards the inn. _Sylphiel, please be okay_ he thought as he ran. He reached the inn pretty fast. After entering he went directly to the innkeeper "Where is Sylphiel?" he asked, breathing pretty hard from his run. The innkeeper was a small man, he was completely taken by surprise by the young warrior in front of him "I…. don't know this Sylphiel, sir". 

Eruk slammed him up against the wall "Don't give me that!" he shouted "she's here, and I want to know which room". The small Innkeeper was terrified "how does she look like, sir?" he managed to ask. Eruk calmed down a bit _of course he don't know her by name_ he thought, and started describing how she looked like. "Oh, that young lass," the innkeeper nodded after a few seconds, she's staying in room number 5. Eruk ran up the stairs as fast as he could. He quickly found Sylphiels room, and knocked loudly on the door. There was no response, he started to panic. 

Without thinking he kicked the door as hard as he could, it flew open. He charged into the room. Sylphiel sat up with a shock, because of the dim lights she couldn't see the intruder, she started screaming. Eruk realized his mistake "Sylphiel it's me, Eruk" he said. It took a while for her to calm down, "what? What's going on Eruk?" she asked. He sat down next to her "I'm really sorry about charging in like that, but I had my reasons, I'm just glad you are safe". She sat up "if there is something wrong, you should tell me", She still sounded a bit shocked. He stood up, "it's nothing. Just a bad dream. I guess I just over-reacted". With those words he left the room.

__

Damn, I should have known better. Now I'll have serious trouble avoiding questions. He was still uneasy. _I can't stay here tonight. I could endanger everybody_. 

He quietly left the inn, and headed for the wood. It was a nice evening, not too cold, and not too hot. He had slept under the stars before. Not only when he was travelling, but also before in New Sairaag. He sat down under a large tree, and wrapped his cape around him. It was times like this, he was happy that he bothered dragging that thing along. The night air felt pleasant, and made him relax. _So much have happened to me in the last year. It's like I'm right in the middle of something big. There's the " Dark counsel", and that bounty on me, and to top it all off there's that mysterious voice. I wonder who I really am._ The last thing he thought of before drifting off to sleep was how the voice had called him a half-breed.

Authors notes:

Who does the voice belong to? What does half-breed mean? So many questions, and the answer is…… A secret!!!!

I hope I'll be able to get another update ready in the weekend. Hope that you enjoy the story.


	14. Surprise

Disclaimer: Don't own slayers. I own my Oc's though.

Surprise. The food is poisoned?

The next morning Sylphiel woke up after an uneasy night. She had spent much of the night thinking. Eruk seemed really scared last night, otherwise he would never have charged in like he did. But why didn't he want to tell her anything? She knew he was hiding something, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out. She slipped out of her nightgown and started getting dressed. She was going to ask him about that episode last night over breakfast. 

She went downstairs. Even before she entered the restaurant, she could hear Lina and Gourry eating as usual. "Hey, good morning sleepyhead, late as usual" Taki said. She was always in a good mood. Sylphiel sat down and started eating her breakfast. She was wondering a bit who had ordered food for her, but settled on thinking it had to be Lina. She couldn't help smiling at the scene unfolding around her. As usual Lina and Gourry were eating like the was no tomorrow, Amelia was next to them, trying to keep up. Zelgadis was staying at a distance, drinking a cup of tea. 

Taki and Sylphiel was usually seated with Eruk. Only this morning he wasn't there. "Have you seen Eruk this morning?" Sylphiel asked. Taki shook her head "no, I haven't seen him since we parted yesterday. But unless he gets here fast, he's going to miss out on breakfast". She pointed to Lina, who was busy eating from Eruk's plate with one hand and keeping Gourry away from it with her other hand. "I think I'll go wake him up then" Sylphiel said and left the restaurant. This wasn't like him at all. Normally he was up by the first light. "Eruk are you awake?" she knocked on the door to his room. There was no response. She tried the door, it was not locked. She peeked inside. The room had no trace of use. She went inside looking around. The only sign of him, was his gear. She had placed it in the corner of his room the night before. "That's funny" she said out loud. She knew how protective he was of his gear, there was no way he would ever leave without it. 

She started to walk back to the restaurant. Just as she entered, she was surprised by the chaos inside. It looked like someone was hurt. She ran up to the crowd that had gathered. Lina was lying on the floor, holding her stomach. "What has happened to miss Lina?" she asked. "I don't know" Amelia screamed "she just collapsed after she had eaten".

The sun rose above the treetops. Eruk started to wake up. He stood up and stretched. _Man, it's been a while since I have slept this long_ he thought. _I'd better get back before everyone starts to worry about me._ He started to walk back to the inn, wondering if could avoid any questions about his behavior yesterday. He started running, he had missed out on his usual training, but at least he could have a nice run back to the inn. He ran pretty fast. He really liked the way the fresh morning air felt through his hair and against his face. It didn't take too long before he reached the inn. He stopped outside, to stretch and catch his breath. 

He was really surprised when he entered the inn. Something was definitely wrong. He was stopped at the door by an employee "I'm sorry sir, but we're closed for the moment". Eruk pushed past him "I have a room here, and my friends are here too. Now let me pass" he said. He heard a lot of voices from the restaurant. He was surprised by the sight that met him inside. Lina was lying lifeless on the ground, with the others around her. He ran over to them "what has happened to miss Lina?" he asked. "We don't know" Zelgadis told him "She just finished your breakfast before collapsing". Eruk was shocked "could the food have been poisoned?" he suggested "I have been attacked by an assassin before". Zelgadis nodded "that's my theory as well, but it doesn't look like a regular anti toxin spell works". Eruk looked down at the young sorceress at his feet "this is terrible, isn't there anything we can do? And what about the one responsible for the poison?" he asked. Zelgadis frowned "I imagine that whoever's responsible for this is already far away. We should concentrate on Linas condition". Amelia looked up "I have heard of a herb that can cure most illnesses and poisons. It is supposedly grown in a monastery a few days travels from here. But the last I heard about it, was that it was completely shut of from the outside world. I don't even know if somebody still lives there". 

Eruk nodded "I will go there then. I fell it's my responsibility". Zelgadis knelt down next to Lina and examined her face, "I'll come as well. This is really starting to get personal". 

Eruk was relieved, he knew Zelgadis would be a valuable companion. "But I don't think the two of us are going to be enough" Zelgadis thought out loud "perhaps Amelia or Sylphiel should come along too, they are both shrinemaidens, their influence could be the thing we need to gain entry". The two shrinemaidens looked at each other. "I think you should stay here, miss Sylphiel" Amelia said "you are a much better healer than I am". Sylphiel looked away, her face was turning into a light shade of red "I… I can't do anything for her, not now. It's…" She stopped talking. Amelia quickly nodded "oh I see… I guess that means I stay, and you go". Eruk didn't quite understand why Sylphiel was so defensive, or why she thought Amelia was a better choice to stay behind.

He turned to Taki "what are you going to do?" he asked her. She looked deep in thought for a while, "I think it would be better if I stay here to help Amelia" she sighed. Gourry finally took his eyes away from Linas limp form "I really would like to come with you, but I just can't leave Lina like this". Zelgadis nodded, and turned to Amelia "We need to go pack a few items before we journey out, could you draw a map to this monastery while we pack?". She eagerly nodded and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

Eruk quickly finished packing the few belongings he would bring along. He went downstairs and waited for the others. The inn had mostly returned to normal. There was still some talking about the incident earlier. He was glad that the innkeeper had offered Amelia that those who stayed behind, could stay for free as long as they needed to. Sylphiel and Zelgadis joined him, and they took of. 

They walked pretty fast, none of them wanted to waste more time than they had to. Eruk was walking next to Zelgadis, listening to him explaining the way he thought was the fastest. Eruk was listening carefully, it was incredible how much Zelgadis knew. He looked behind him, Sylphiel seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable. He slowed down a bit, allowing her to keep up with him. "Sylphiel, is there something wrong?" he asked. "No, not really" she snapped back. Eruk was surprised, she usually never acted like that. He looked away "well sorry to bother you then". He started walking a bit faster in order to catch up to Zelgadis once again. There wasn't much conversation the rest of the day.

They set up camp by a small lake in a forest. Zelgadis and Eruk were gathering firewood for the night. "Say Zelgadis, can I ask you a question?" Eruk asked, a bit hesitant. Zelgadis didn't bother to look in his direction "What?" he asked. "Well, it's about Sylphiel… I don't understand why she said she couldn't do anything for miss Lina. Do you have any idea why?" Zelgadis didn't respond at first. "I thought so" Eruk sighed, believing that the chimera had no intention of answering. "I was just thinking. Has she acted different somehow?". Eruk nodded "Yeah, she seemed to be in a really bad mood today". Zelgadis chuckled a bit "well, I would think that it's that time of the month" he answered. 

Eruk was confused "I get that cranky part, but that doesn't explain why she couldn't help miss Lina does it?". This time Zelgadis actually looked at him "It does explain everything. I thought you could use magic. You should know about this thing". Eruk stared at him blankly "what thing?". Zelgadis stopped gathering wood and stretched his back "she didn't mention that little detail for you? Well I guess there never was any reason for you to know in the first place. You see, all female magic users loose all their power during that time of the month". They got back to the camp. Sylphiel had already started preparing their dinner. The light of day faded gradually, and the night silently came. 

Eruk and Sylphiel went to sleep, leaving Zelgadis with the first watch. Sylphiel slept in a small tent, while Eruk had settled down under a tree. 

Eruk was unable to sleep, he had this strange feeling once again, like somebody was watching him from the shadows. He had no idea how long he was sitting there, not sleeping and not awake either. He suddenly became aware of somebody standing next to him. "It's your shift" the voice belonged to Zelgadis. Eruk tried to hide his fears, and nodded. Zelgadis sat down under the same tree Eruk had been sitting under, and left him to the next watch. Eruk moved over to sit by the fire. The light made him feel better, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was out there in the dark. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small light, he didn't know why, but somehow he felt drawn toward it. He got up.

Sylphiel was running away from somebody. She had no idea who was after her, she just knew she couldn't allow it to capture her. She looked behind her as she ran, she could vaguely she the one chasing her, it was a man, judging from his build. Even though he looked human, there was some evil, demonic power radiating from him. She could fell how it became more and more difficult to move. As she looked down at her feet, she could see shadows clinging to them, almost like thick mud. Her pace grew slower, and in the end she was unable to move. She just stood there, waiting. Her pursuer stopped, his face hidden in the shadows. From both his hands, she could see 3 shiny objects. She swallowed hard "Eruk?" she stuttered. The person emerged from the shadows, it was indeed Eruk, but a horrible demonic version of him. The creature advanced upon her. She closed her eyes, and waited for the creature to strike. Suddenly she felt a rush of wind in her hair. Cautiously she opened an eye. Eruk had come from behind, running past her to protect her. She watched in awe as Eruk was fighting…Eruk. 

Sylphiel sat up with a gasp. "What a nightmare" she whispered to herself. She reached for her water canteen. It was empty. There was no way around it, if she wanted something to drink, she had to go out and refill by the lake. She sighed, and picked up her cape, hopefully it would keep her warm until she returned. She crawled out of her little tent, and looked around. The moon was still high in the sky "looks like it's still pretty early in the night, that means there's still plenty of time to sleep" she thought with a smile. She noticed Zelgadis sleeping under a tree. She scouted the area, trying to locate Eruk. She became a bit nervous when there was no sign of him, especially when she thought back to her nightmare. 

She quietly walked down to the lake. She sat down dipping her water canteen in the cold, clear water. It didn't take long before the canteen was full. She took a sip, it felt nice. Her troath had been dry like a desert. She sat down on a log, sipping her water. It was a nice starry night, with just a bit of wind. She had always liked nights like this, just looking at the stars and listening to the waves. She looked around, still a bit concerned that she couldn't see Eruk anywhere. She looked towards the forest, in hope of seeing him somewhere. He had always liked the forest for some reason, a bit strange considering how he almost died in one. No matter how much she looked for him, she couldn't see him anywhere. She turned her attention back to the lake. "Eruk, where are you?" she thought. 

She got a funny feeling, and turned her head back to the forest. Had she just seen something move? She stood up, and started to walk towards the place where she thought she saw something. It was probably nothing, so she didn't bother waking up Zelgadis. As she got closer to the wood, she could see a small light. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she sneaked even closer. She could hear vices now. One of them was definitely belonging to Eruk, she was not sure of the other, but somehow felt like she had heard it before. She hid behind a tree, listening.

"I'm telling you, I have no desire for anything you have to offer" Eruk was upset. Why did that mysterious character keep bothering him?. "Are you sure?" the voice came from all around him. He stood up "you are telling me to abandon everything I have!". "True" the voice admitted "that is an unfortunate side effect. But I am you best lead to your past, why keep searching when all the answers are right in front of you?". Eruk felt himself getting angry "you know who I am? Tell me" he demanded. "I thought I told you that it was a secret." The voice was clearly mocking him. "But I will tell you this, you are a special case, and therefore you are quite interesting for both myself and my superior". Eruk started getting angry "Just leave me alone" he shouted. "Then keep up your foolish quest" the voice turned serious again, "but when you find your answer, I'll be there, waiting". 

Eruk was certain that he saw a man standing under a tree, but before he could react, he turned his back on him and disappeared. Eruk was sitting on the ground. Sylphiel wanted to go to him, but decided against it in the end. She had no right to be there in the first place, and it was obvious that she wasn't supposed to have heard anything. She quietly walked back to the camp. She was sure she had heard that other voice somewhere before, but she just couldn't put a face on it. 

She sat down on the log by the lake, waiting for Eruk to come back. She didn't have to wait long, before he came out of the forest. "Oh good evening Eruk" she said with false surprise "where have you been?", she tried to sound as casual as possible. He sat down beside her "Oh nowhere special, I heard something in the forest, so I went to check it out, but it was just a badger". She looked down, surprised that he was sitting there lying to her "oh I see" was her only response. 

They sat for awhile in silence. Eruk got a sad look in his eyes "you know, don't you?" he carefully asked. The shrinemaiden lowered her eyes "I came out in the forest to look for you. I didn't mean to hear anything". Eruk stood up, "I think you've made a serious mistake, Sylphiel. I don't know if you could make anything out of what he said to me, but I have a feeling he wasn't human". 

A sparkle of recognition could be seen in her features "I think I know who he was". Eruk grabbed her shoulders "you know who he is? Tell me!" he demanded. She started to get scared of him "I only thought I could recognize his voice, It sounded like the general priest of the dark lord Zelas Metallium". Eruk took a step back, he remembered having read something about the dark lords "do you mean the monster race is after me as well?". She gave him a weak nod "I think so, but I have only met him briefly" He sat down next to her "I… I think I already knew that it was a mazuko. I have felt it, the taint, I mean. I think I'm a monster too". 

She put her arm around him to offer comfort "you can't be a mazuko" she whispered to him. "And why? Can you tell me just why I can't be a monster?" there was a harsh tone in his voice. Her voice softened "I know because you care for others, I have seen you bleed, Monsters don't do that". He was still upset, but he started to calm down "are you sure Sylphiel?" he asked "do you really think I'm human?". 

"I'm positive" she assured him. He started to relax "I hope you are right, Sylphiel, I really hope you are right". 

They just sat there together for a while, Eruk had calmed down. It was funny how her mere being there, could calm him down. "you'd better go back to your tent and get some sleep" he finally said. She didn't find the thought of leaving him alone that appealing. He could see that she hesitated to move "go on, I feel better" he assured her "we both need to sleep, I'll go wake up Zelgadis, it's time for his shift. We can talk tomorrow, ok?" She removed the arm she had put around him "yes, I think you are right. Good night Eruk" she said and went back to her tent, just before she went inside she looked back at him. He was still siting on the log, but then he shook his head and walked over to Zelgadis.

After some time of silence, morning came. Sylphiel woke after an uneasy night. She quickly got dressed, and hurried out of her tent to check on Eruk. She was worried about him after the episode last night. He did say he felt fine, but she didn't believe him. He had just been too fast to come to terms with his feelings. Zelgadis turned his head in her direction, when she came out of her tent, he looked miserable. "Mister Zelgadis, is there something wrong?" she asked. "I was hoping you could tell me" he mumbled "but as far as I know someone cast a sleep spell on me last night, and as far as I can tell, it wasn't cast by some amateur". Sylphiel decided to play it innocent "A sleep spell? I have no idea. I was up to get a drink of water during the night, but I didn't see anything". Zelgadis turned back to his tea "so you weren't put under the spell. What about your friend?" She wanted to avoid that subject "I don't know. I talked to him when I went out to get some water" she looked around "by the way, I don't see him anywhere". 

Zelgadis pointed toward the lake "he went over to get a bath, he should be back soon". She sat down next to the chimera, who handed her a cup of tea. She smiled at him "thanks". They heard something in the bushes, Zelgadis instinctively reached for his sword. "No need for that" it was Eruk voice. He came through the bushes. Zelgadis relaxed, then started to break camp. "We better get moving, the more time we waste here, the more Lina suffers. If we hurry we can get to the monastery by tonight". Eruk and Sylphiel went over and helped gather their stuff.

Zelgadis was walking fast. They had lost too much time camping. Sylphiel had trouble keeping up with this pace. "Come on Sylphiel, it's not that far now" Eruk tried to cheer her on. He was trying to keep her spirit high, and make her forget how tired she had become. Sylphiel did have more strength left, but used her being tired as an excuse to talk to Eruk privately. "Eruk?" she asked "about last night…". Eruk fell silent for a while "I have come to terms with it. I not sure if I'm human or mazuko, or something third. All that matters is, that I'm me, right?" She stopped him "Eruk", she tried to get in contact with him, but he walked on. "I have no need to talk more about that" he shot back to her. She was surprised, he had never talked to her like that. She was hurt, but decided not to give up on him. Instead she would remain by his side, in case he needed her help after all. 

She hurried to keep up with Eruk and Zelgadis. In spite of the way he had snapped at her, she was still feeling a growing attraction to him. Just like herself, he was all alone too. Normal he was sweet and caring, just like Gourry always had been to her. She hoped he would remain that way, even though he was going through a difficult period right now. She looked forward to arrive at the monastery, maybe there they would find some time to talk about how things had developed. She followed in silence.

Authors notes:

You still with me, slayers otaku-girl? I'm impressed, I just want to let you (and everybody else who reads this) know, that by now we are through 1/3 of the story. You wanna know who I like better, Eruk or Xellos? That's a hard question… Even though Xellos is cool, I have to say I like Eruk better. This is not a self insert, but he does share some of my own personality. In other words, he's like another me.

Eruk, a mazuko? Is he right, or is Xellos just playing with his mind? (come on, it was easy to guess that the mysterious voice was Xellos, wasn't it?). You may have noticed that I use both the term Mazuko and monster. In my story, mazuko is what that race call themselves, and monster is the general term used by humans. Just to avoid confusion.


	15. The temple of the blind

Disclaimer: still not mine

The temple of the blind

More secrets revealed

Around noon they could finally see the monastery, it was nothing like Eruk had expected. It was noting more than a doorway into a cliff. Zelgadis walked up to the heavy door, and started knocking. "I don't think that will work Mr. Zelgadis" Sylphiel said "remember what miss Amelia told us? She said it was most likely that this compound was deserted". Eruk came up behind them "if that's the case, why don't we just go inside and see if we can find that sacred herb". Zelgadis first tried to open the door by using his physically strength, but failed. The door was more sturdy than it looked. 

He stepped back, and motioned to Eruk and Sylphiel to move as well. "If normal means won't open it, then let's try something else", he chanted a spell. Energy gathered in his right hand "Damu Brass!!". The force of the spell made a huge dent in the door, but it was still standing. "Wow, that's some door" Eruk said to no one in particular. "No door's going to make me look like an idiot" Zelgadis spat. This time he concentrated on gathering even more power "DAMU BR…." He was cut of by the sound of the door slowly opening. An old man was coming out "Who are you that trespass at our monastery?" he asked them. 

Zelgadis pulled up his mask and hood, and bowed to the old monk "We come here in hope of retrieving an herb that can cure even the most severe poison". The monk stared straight into Zelgadis's eyes "your words ring true, but you are too sinful to enter this sacred place. You have caused harm to many people". Zelgadis stepped back "how did you know?" The monk smiled "being blind lets you see more than you think". That was a surprise for Zelgadis, he had been around blind people before, but all of them had their eyes closed, unlike this monk. His dead eyes were wide open. 

He turned his back on Zelgadis. Eruk stepped up to support Zelgadis "He may have done some sinful things, but does that mean he can't save another persons life?" The monk nodded "we can't just hand our most priced possession over to anyone who might desire it, no matter the reasons". Eruk was almost about to give up "how about me?" he tried as a last ditch effort. The monk shook his head "you too, are way to sinful to enter this holy place alone". Sylphiel, who had been staying in the background, came up to the others "is there nothing we can do? miss Lina is dying. We need to get her a cure fast" she asked, her voice full of concern. The blind monk turned his head in her direction "young lady, I didn't sense anything from you. I never would have thought anyone would come here with a heart free of sin". She lived up "do you mean I can get the healing herb then?" she asked hopefully. 

The monk nodded "We will even use it to prepare an antidote for you, but the process will take a day". Zelgadis was displeased "we can't afford to lose an entire day waiting". The monk turned back to him "We could just give you the herb and let you make the antidote yourself, but it would be a deadly poison if it was made improperly". Zelgadis sighed "I guess we have no choice then…". The monk motioned to the door "You can stay inside while you wait, but you two…" he turned to Eruk and Zelgadis "are not allowed to go any further inside than the guestrooms". 

They followed him inside. The place was nothing more than cavern, slightly adopted to living space. They were shown into a poorly lighted area, that obviously weren't used much. "you can stay here, we'll begin working on the antidote right away. I'll let you know when we are done" with those words the monk left. Zelgadis went into the nearest room and slammed the door after him, obviously irritated about loosing another day. Eruk and Sylphiel looked at each other "I guess this leaves us with the last two rooms" Eruk thought out loud. He turned to the nearest door "I'll take this room and you the last one?" he asked. She nodded and left for the room next to his. He opened the door. _Wow, this is some room. I think I liked the prison in Seyruun better, _he thought. The room, or rather the cave, was dusty and filled with cobweb. He went over and tested the bed, it wasn't too comfortable, but it would have to do. He sat down and relaxed. He didn't sit down for more than a few seconds, before he heard a loud crash from Sylphiels room. He jumped up and ran out of the door. 

Not wanting to waste any time he kicked the door to Sylphiels room open, prepared for anything. He quickly scanned the room, and found that he wasn't prepared for everything after all. Sylphiel was sitting on the floor, in the middle of something that looked like it once had been a bed. He just couldn't help himself, he burst into laughter. "That isn't very funny" she said with a tone of mock hurt. He tried to control himself enough to speak "I'm sorry Sylphiel, You just look hilarious sitting like that". She stood up, rubbing her behind, "now what am I supposed to do?". From the way her clothing looked, Eruk figured that the floor was too wet to sleep on "I guess you take my bed then" he suggested. "But you need a bed too" she tried to argue, but he cut her off "I'll sleep on the floor, but…" he kicked a small pool of water " I think I would like to do so in the other room, if that's ok with you". She nodded "It wouldn't be different than camping out, or sleeping in that shed in old Sairaag". 

They gathered her belongings and moved them into the other room. Eruk started working on an improvised curtain. He used her tent to divide the room in two parts. After being done with that, he started looking for a spot for his own bedroll. He started to relax, just laying down looking up into the ceiling. He started to drift of to sleep.

Some time later he woke up to a strange sensation, it felt like surrounded by a strange calming force. He opened his eyes, Sylphiel was sitting next to him surrounded by a white light. "Don't worry, it wont hurt". He could hear her voice in his mind. He relaxed. Some time later he felt the real world once again. He sat up "what did you do to me?" he asked. She didn't look at him "I just scanned your body for anything unnatural". He looked at her in wonder "scanned my body? What do you mean?". She stood up and took a step away from him "It's just a simple practice in exorcisms, I should be able to detect anything non-human about you". He closed his eyes, sighing "so you tried to find out if I'm a mazuko or not? Well, what am I?". she hesitated a bit "well… you're definitely human, but…" Eruk had just started to relax, when he got a strong feeling that there was something she hadn't told him. 

He grabbed hold of her, and stared directly into her eyes "but what, Sylphiel?" he asked dryly, even more so than he had intended. "But…" she had started stuttering "but you have an unnatural large astrobody, much larger than anything I have ever felt with a human". He let go of her "that means I'm a mazuko, right?". She shook her head "I.. I don't know, but normally I guess it would… but it isn't a completely evil energy as with a mazuko". Eruk turned his attention back to her "you're not making much sense now" he said. A single tear rolled down her cheek "I wish I could tell you more, but I don't know what it means". He put his arm around her "you don't have to be so upset about it" he tried to calm her down "you have at least told me that I'm more human than anything else, that matters a lot to me". 

They just sat there for a while. Eruk noticed Sylphiel had gone limp, he tried to move, but she followed his movements. She had fallen asleep. He carefully got on his feet, and carried her over to her bed. "pleasant dreams" he whispered. He closed the improvised curtain behind him as he left her side of the room. With noting better to do he decided to get some sleep as well, figuring they were going to travel at double speed as soon as the antidote was ready.

He was woken up some time later by someone knocking on the door. "go ahead, it's not locked" he mumbled. He was more asleep, than awake. He jumped up when he realized that someone was standing next to him. "Zelgadis" he gasped "don't scare me like that". 

"I'm looking for Sylphiel, do you know where she is?" he asked. He blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes, "sure I do" he said, and gestured to the curtain "she's right here". Acting almost like on cue, Sylphiel pulled the curtain aside "what's going on?" she asked sleepily. Zelgadis looked at both of them "you are sleeping together?" he asked. Eruk was the first to notice the slight blush that formed on both Zelgadis and Sylphiel. He decided to sort this out fast "yeah, I assume that you have seen the condition of the other room". Zelgadis made a quick nod, and Eruk continued "I couldn't just leave her there, so I let her sleep in here" he gestured to the curtain, then eyed Zelgadis "From that look on your face, I know what you were thinking, but I assure you sleep is the operative term here". Zelgadis shook his head "damn kids" he muttered, and turned to Sylphiel "let's just drop that subject. I just want to know if your powers have returned yet". She blushed even more "yes, they have, but why?". 

Zelgadis started explaining how they had to hurry back, and how he was planing on using ray wing to get back as fast as possible. They both listened to his plan. "It sound like a good plan Mr. Zelgadis" Eruk started "but I'm not a sorcerer, I can only levitate a very short amount, and not enough to use it to travel". Zelgadis muttered something under his breath "then Sylphiel and I will have to carry you. We can't afford to loose any more time". Having said what he came to say, he left the room. "Oh, and you might want to get some sleep tonight, we have a long way to travel tomorrow", he said just before he closed the door behind him. Sylphiel was blushing ferociously, while Eruk was shaking his head "That guy really have a lousy sense of humor". He laid back on his bedroll "I guess we'd better do as he suggested, and get some sleep". 

He stretched a bit and yawned, before he wrapped his cape around him and closed his eyes "G'night Sylphiel". Sylphiel found herself unable to sleep. Why did that little joke Zelgadis made, affect her so? Of course she had gotten close to Eruk, it was only natural after being with him that long. There was nothing more to it. Everyone knew that she was in love with Gourry, well everybody except Gourry, and maybe Eruk. But if she indeed did love Gourry, why had she then stopped calling him Gourry-dear, like she used to? And when she did, it felt more like a habit than anything else. She blushed a bit when she thought back to that night after their stay in old Sairaag, that night she called him Eruk-dear by accident. It had never been her intention to call him that, but somehow it didn't feel wrong. 

"Sylphiel?" Eruk's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "Y…yes?" She had thought he was sleeping. "I hope I didn't wake you up" he whispered "but I need to ask you a favor". Her mind was racing "what kind of favor?". He sighed "please don't tell anyone about our recent conversations. I don't want anyone to think I'm anything else than human, at least until we find out the truth about me". She was surprised about his request, it wasn't like her to keep secrets. "I'm not sure, wouldn't it be better to tell miss Lina everything? she usually knows what to do". His voice became more pleading "please Sylphiel. I don't need anyone to distance themselves from me, because of what I might be". She realized his need for secrecy, "I promise I won't tell anyone unless I have to" she promised. Time passed, but she found herself unable to relax. From behind the curtain she could hear him tossing and turning. She made a quick decision, and cast a small sleeping spell on him. At least she could offer him a night of sleep. 

The next morning they were woken by Zelgadis. "Time to move" he shouted from outside the door. When Eruk finally got up from his bedroll, Sylphiel was already busy packing their stuff. She turned her head in his direction "and you say I like to sleep?" He decided to ignore the little insult, at least until he could get back at her. He touched his forehead "man, I feel like I have been hit by a ton of bricks". Sylphiel silently cursed herself, she should have remembered that sleep spells sometimes had that effect. She decided to keep her mouth shut about the spell, and instead help him recover from his "hangover". 

She started packing his gear as well "you shouldn't worry about it, I'm sure you'll feel better when you get up from that cold floor. He stood up, still feeling a bit wobbly, but determined to get back with the antidote today. They met up with Zelgadis outside of the room. He was holding a small vial with a green liquid inside "… and you're sure this works?" he asked the blind monk one last time. The monk looked displeased, apparently it wasn't the first time Zelgadis had asked him that question. Zelgadis turned around when a door opened behind him "so, are you ready?" he asked. Sylphiel and Eruk both nodded. Once outside of the monastery they heard the sound of the massive door close behind them. 

The trio began preparing their journey. Sylphiel used her magic to create a wind barrier large enough to carry all of them, and Zelgadis manipulated the wind to make them fly even faster. Eruk's job was to keep an eye out for any landmarks on the ground. They were flying fast, after only a few hours he spotted the lake they had camped by earlier. The strain was already beginning to show on both Sylphiel and Zelgadis. Eruk only hoped that they would be able to hold out until they reached their destination. Time passed slowly, but finally Eruk saw a small blue line in the horizon, they were approaching the ocean. Now it wasn't long before they reached their destination. Eruk was the first to spot the small town, he quickly guided the two others in the right direction. Finally they landed in front of the inn. Both Zelgadis and Sylphiel looked exhausted, none of them had ever levitated that long before. They took a few seconds to catch their breath, then went into the inn. 

Taki was sitting by a table eating an early dinner. She almost knocked over the table when se saw them "Oh you're back! Did you get an antidote?" she shouted. Zelgadis smiled at the young waitress and held up the small vial. She was shining even brighter that the sun "oh great, then let's hurry and give it to miss Lina". She hurried up the stairs, leading them to the room they had borrowed. Amelia was sitting next to Lina's bed, cooling her forehead with a wet piece of cloth. Gourry was sitting on the other side of the bed. He almost looked worse of than Lina did. His eyes were red from lack of sleep and his hair was a big mess, he was just sitting there holding her hand. Amelia was the only one to react when they came into the room. "Mister Zelgadis! You're back!" a sparkle of hope could be seen on her face "did you get the antidote?". Taki ran to her side "yes they did miss Amelia! Miss Lina is going to be ok now!" 

Zelgadis went over to Lina's limp form. Her skin was pale and she was barely breathing. He lifted up her head, and poured the green liquid into her mouth. Even in her near unconscious state she grimaced, obviously the antidote was pretty strong. Gourry looked at the girl in front of him "come on Lina, you can make it" he whispered. "Oh you needn't worry about that" they were all surprised by an familiar voice from a dark corner of the room. "Xellos!" all of them shouted, well, all of them who knew who he was anyway. He walked over to the surprised group of people by the bed. He leaned in to examine her features "she looks better already" he concluded. 

Zelgadis pushed him away "what are you doing here anyway?" he asked, clearly annoyed. The trickster priest made one of his innocent faces "What?" he asked sweetly "can't I see my dear old friends once in a while?". Zelgadis grabbed the priest and lifted him above the ground "We have absolutely no reason to trust anything you say" he said through cleansed teeth. Xellos just kept on smiling, knowing quite well that he had nothing to fear from the angry chimera. Amelia tucked on Zelgadis' sleeve "come on now Mr. Zelgadis, you don't have to treat Mr. Xellos like that, maybe he has ended his evil ways?" she stared at him starry-eyed. Zelgadis didn't even bother to answer. Gourry rose too his feet "can't you guys take it somewhere else? Lina need some rest". They all stared at the swordsman, he was the tallest among them, and really made an impressive figure. Zelgadis even put Xellos back on the ground. They all quietly started to leave the room. 

Outside the room they meet the innkeeper. "So, you're all back again?" he asked "did you find what you were looking for?". They all nodded in unison. "We could need some rooms to relax in" Zelgadis started "it was a rough trip back". The innkeeper was happy to give them lodging for the night. Eruk figured that he must have felt guilty about the poisoned food.

All of them were shown to their rooms. Eruk was laying on his bed thinking, like he usually did when he didn't feel like sleeping. That guy, Xellos, he had just appeared from nowhere. Could he be the one that had spoken to him a couple of times before? It was almost like he could feel the evil energy Xellos generated, it was disgusting and appealing to him at the same time. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. Images of Xellos kept entering his mind, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget the things the voice had said to him. Eruk was tossing and turning, unable to rest. After a few sleepless hours he sat up. _This can't go on. I need answers, or a sleep spell._ He stood up and put some clothes on. Perhaps Sylphiel could give him some answers. He wasn't all that thrilled about waking her up in the middle of the night, but he felt like he had too. 

He left his own room and headed for the room Sylphiel used. Before he got there, he was interrupted by a voice behind him "Hi there Eruk! What's the matter? Can't sleep?". He spun around to face the one that had spoken to him. "Oh hi Taki. Yeah, I just can't fall asleep so I thought some fresh air would be nice" he tried not to sound annoyed by the fact that she interrupted his own plans. "Can I go with you?" she asked happily. He started walking for the door and motioned for her to follow. Outside the inn there was a small garden. Eruk sat down by a table, that was being used as a part of the restaurant, "hey waitress, bring me the menu" he ordered. Taki, who somehow had gotten hold of a menu, came up to him and gently slapped it into his face "I'm off duty". She sat down on the other side of the table. Eruk was quietly muttering something about this place having a really lousy service. She was about to slap him again, but he blocked "you're off duty, I know." he laughed. 

None of then said anything for awhile. "Eruk?" Taki was the first to break the silence. He stopped gazing at the stars "Hmm?". She looked a bit uneasy "do you think miss Lina is going to be alright?", her voice was full of concern. "I don't know" he answered truthfully "but we have done all that we can. The rest is up to miss Lina herself". Taki nodded "then I'm sure she'll be just fine". They fell back into silence. "You are pretty taken with her, aren't you?" Eruk asked after awhile. She hesitated "Well… I admire her for being so strong, I just wish I could be like that." Eruk didn't say anything, but waited for her to go on. Taki tried to avoid his gaze "she once saved my life" she finally confessed. She had his full attention now. "you never mentioned that before" he pointed out, "but go on". She nodded "it happened 4 years ago, the town I lived in was attacked by a bunch of trolls. Miss Lina saved me from some of them". Eruk was thrilled by her story "why haven't you told anyone about this before?" he asked curiously. "I wasn't sure if the one who saved me really was miss Lina. I have heard some awful rumors about her later on. But after spending time with her, I'm pretty sure now. I don't think she remembers though" Taki admitted. 

Eruk was shaking his head, laughing, "it would seem that everyone have crossed paths with each other before. I just wonder where I fit in". Taki covered her mouth "I wasn't going to make you think about that again, I'm sorry". He merely smiled "Don't worry about it. I'm Eruk now, if I don't find out anything about my past, then I'll have to live without it". He felt it wasn't necessary for her to know the entire truth just yet. The truth was, that he was now even more concerned than ever about his past. She yawned "I think I'll head back to my room now, I'm getting tired". She left the garden. Once inside the inn, she heard someone running behind him. She nervously looked over her shoulder, then relaxed. The person she had heard was only Eruk trying to keep up with her. "Missed me already?" she asked. He rolled his eyes "let's just say I'm going to escort you to your room". She slowed down her pace "you don't have to do that, you know". He shrugged "my room is that way too, so I'm going the same way in any case". She pouted "and here I thought I was special", but she walked with him after all.

Eruk said goodnight to Taki, and went into his room. He was feeling tired, his talk with Taki had taken his mind of his own troubles. It didn't take more than a few minutes before he fell asleep.

Authors notes:

I promised an update in the weekend, and here it is. Actually I got some extra time on my hands, so maybe I'll have another update ready before this week is over.

So, Lina was cured and Xellos appeared in person. What a chapter!! To tell the truth, I'm not so fond of this chapter myself, but the story is already written, and it is necessary for the rest of the story to make sense. So here it is. Finally Taki's story has been revealed. That's one part I really like about this chapter. She is the waitress that was attacked by trolls when Shabranigdo

was reborn. I bet you never saw that one coming. Things will start happening in the next chapters, and more will be revealed about Eruk. Hope you are looking forward too it.


	16. Beware

Disclaimer: Even with all the time I have been working on this, I still don't own slayers.

Beware

The sorceress has awoken

The sun was slowly rising over the small harbor town. It was still an early summer morning, the only sound to be heard was the early birds singing. Eruk had just woken up. He was laying on his back, enjoying the morning sun through his window. Even though he didn't feel tired, the sound of the birds was slowly sending him into sleep again. Suddenly the morning peace was broken "GOURRY!!! YOU PERVERT!!!". Eruk almost fell out of his bed from the shock. It didn't take him long to figure out that Lina was feeling better. His first thought was to just leave them alone, but when he started hearing some questionable noises, he decided that somebody had to check on them. 

He got up and went over to Linas room. Before entering, he peeked inside. Gourry was laying on his stomach in the bed, while Lina sat on top of him, trying to strangle him, and yelling curses at him at the same time. "Hack… Lina, what did I do?" Gourry managed to say with the few breaths of air Lina allowed him. The fact that he wasn't aware of his own errors, only made her even more furious. "What did you do? I'll tell you! I know you sneaked into my room, just to take advantage of me while I was sleeping", she furthermore made her point clear by slapping him with every word. Being slapped by Lina is normally a bad thing, but in this particular case, it had some positive effect. In order to slap him, she had to remove her hands from his neck, and thus allowing him to breathe. 

Eruk's plan had been to see what they were doing, and to prevent any permanent damage on Gourry, but he felt this was just a little out of his league. He tried to close the door, and slip away very silently. Unfortunately Lina must have heard him, because he only had time to turn around to leave, before someone dragged him into the room. "And what do you think you were doing?" Lina asked, a fireball forming between her hands. "I… I uhh?" Eruk was unable to think of a suitable answer. "Time's up" Lina shouted and prepared to let him fry. _Come on, come on, come on think of something, anything that will calm her down _he mentally begged his brain. "WAIT miss Lina" he shouted, while waving his arms in front of him, "I heard that you were awake, and was wondering if I could bring you some breakfast?" his heartbeat slowed down from warpspeed to normal fast pace, when she let the fireball dissolve. "What's the catch?" she eyed him suspiciously. _What's the catch? Why ask that all of a sudden? Couldn't she just accept my offer and let me escape? Gotta think of an answer, fast!._ "Because you beat me in a duel, and therefore I owe you a favor? " he tried. Lina's grim expression faded "well ok! Just bring me everything they got. I fell like a haven't eaten for days". Eruk bowed to her, just like any normal waiter would do "I'll be right back" he said and backed out of the door. 

Once in the relative safety the closed door provided, he leaned against a wall, and breathed heavily, _that was way too close! I really ought to think things through when dealing with that girl._ After he felt his heart slow down to it's normal speed, he made a mental note of joining Sylphiel during her prayers, seeing as there had to be some kind of higher force protecting him from Linas wrath. Just as he was ready to leave for the restaurant, Gourry was thrown out of the door, head first. Eruk stopped to help him stand up. But to his surprise Gourry just acted like nothing had happened. "Are you hurt?" he asked the blonde swordsman. "Nah I'm fine. I guess she's still weak from the poison, and the fact that I really didn't do anything that bad, made her go easy on me. Gourry was scratching the back of his head grinning sheepishly "I must have fallen asleep, and somehow gotten hold of her hand, while I was sleeping". Gourry waved goodbye, and left a dumbfounded Eruk standing in the deserted hallway. 

He didn't stand looking for Gourry for too long, he had more pressing matters to attend to. He headed down to the kitchen. He started to get scared as he came closer, and still couldn't smell any food. His fears started to turn into a regular panic, as he discovered that nobody was working in the kitchen that morning. He ran to the innkeepers living area. After beating on the door, a sleepy looking innkeeper opened the door "What do you want?" he asked. Eruk quickly explained that he was in dire need of breakfast, and plenty of it, in a hurry. "I'm sorry son, but the kitchen wont open until the afternoon. Most of my employees are going to prepare for the next few days festival". Eruk started to turn pale, he never thought his life would depend on something like breakfast. "Could I use the kitchen? I promise, I'll pay for it" he asked, using his last option. The innkeeper looked thoughtful, but agreed. Eruk thanked him and ran into the kitchen. 

He started to look around, so much food, and still he had no clue on what he should be making. The first thing that came to mind was frying some eggs and bacon, along with making some toast. He knew it wasn't enough, but in the very least it could occupy Lina for a few minutes. He hurried to get the food to her room. "Is that it?" Lina asked, looking everything but pleased, by the amount of food he had brought her. "Oh don't worry miss Lina, this is just the beginning. I'll bring you some more as soon as it is done". She accepted his explanation, an went on to wolfing down the food. He quietly left the room in order to get her more food. _I'll be spending the rest of my life doing all her cooking, if I don't think of something._

"Eruk?" his thoughts were interrupted by a soft feminine voice. "Sylphiel!" he couldn't believe his own luck. He fell to his knees in front of her, begging "please save me". She was stunned by his actions. Normally he was extremely calm and clearheaded about most things, but this was just so unlike him. "What do you mean" she managed to ask. He quickly told her how he had made a deal with Lina, and about his bad luck with the closed restaurant. While he was talking he gently pushed her towards the kitchen. She giggled a bit when he told her about the confusion he was still experiencing from cooking. 

She quickly scanned the room, to see what she needed in order to make a breakfast, that would satisfy even Linas appetite. "You know, you didn't have to beg like that, I'm happy to help" she said, still giggling. He blushed a bit "yeah I know. I guess I just panicked". She placed some of the food on a tray "you'd better give this to miss Lina before she comes down looking for you". He picked up the tray, and hurried up the stairs to Linas room. "Now that's breakfast!" Lina exclaimed and once again started wolfing down food. Eruk turned around and started to leave. Just before he reached the door, she called him back "Just bring me one more serving like this one, and I think it'll be enough". He smiled, he never even imagined that he could get away with a small amount of food like that. Of course, the term "small amounts of food", was open for discussion. She had already eaten for 2 or 3 persons, and was ordering food enough for 2 people to finish of the meal. 

He went back to Sylphiel. "You only have to finish what you are making now" he told her "I think she's still suffering from side effects to the poison". She nodded. He ran up with the last of the food, and hurried back to help Sylphiel clean up the kitchen. He was surprised to find out that she hadn't stopped cooking. "Uh Sylphiel? I told you Lina didn't want any more food, didn't I?" He asked. She was smiling " why yes, you did. I just thought I would make something for the two of us while I was at it". The sat down by a small table. "It's been a while since we were alone like this" Eruk thought out loud, " I must admit that I have missed it". She blushed a bit "what do you mean?" she asked. "What I mean is that we don't have to fight, just to get a little bit to eat" he started of "and I just like our quiet time together". His words about liking their time together didn't make her blush fade away, far from it. She quickly tried to change the subject "Anyway, I have heard something of a summer festival being held here, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could stay here to enjoy it?" He nodded, "yeah it would. After everything we have been through, it would be nice to just relax and have fun. But I don't think we can convince the others to delay the journey, especially after what has happened during the last few days". 

Eruk suddenly remembered the questions he didn't get a time to ask her last night "Say Sylphiel? That Xellos guy that shoved up yesterday is he…?" She sipped her tea "I think so, but I'm not sure. Trying to scare people, and manipulate them through their fears, isn't something I have ever heard of him doing. He IS a monster though, so I guess he is capable of more than I know of". Eruk opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance, as Amelia burst into the door "So there you are, we have been looking for you two. We are getting ready to find a ship to the outer world" she stopped talking for a moment and looked at them "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked. Eruk quickly stood up "no, not at all. Were just having some breakfast. Why don't you guys head for the harbor, we'll clean up back here, and catch up with you later". Amelia nodded and ran out of the door. "We'd better get to work", he said, and started cleaning.

"Tell me, why do YOU have to come along!" Zelgadis was definitely not pleased by Xellos's tagging along. Xellos just kept up with his usually happy face "I'll just come along, because I feel like it. It's been far too long since I saw you, my dear friends". The others just shrugged and walked on, knowing quite well that they couldn't get rid of Xellos, even if they wanted to. "Calm down Zel" Lina ordered "It's not like his going to just go away. And in any case, isn't it better to know where he is, instead of having him stalking us?". Zelgadis didn't answer, but grumbled something that was to low to hear. Taki was the only on who didn't mind Xellos, and she just couldn't understand why everyone seemed to be so annoyed with him. In her mind, he was quite charming. "Miss Amelia?" she asked "why is it that nobody likes Mr. Xellos?". Amelia immediately struck a posse, pointing at Xellos "Mr. Xellos is an evil monster, bent on destroying the world!". Xellos merely rubbed the back of his head "come on Amelia, I'm not really all that bad, am I?". The discussion between Amelia and Xellos went on, while Taki tried to figure out who was right. 

"There! That should do it" Eruk proudly announced, looking at the kitchen. It was in just like they had never been there, except from the money they had left on the table. Sylphiel had left a few minutes ago to gather their stuff. "Are you ready to go?" she asked as she met him inside the restaurant.

They walked towards the harbor, looking at all the townspeople preparing for the festival. They were looking at the booths, that had been placed all over the market square. "Oh I sure wish we could stay for a few days longer" Sylphiel sighed "It's been so long since I have been to a festival". Eruk agreed, he too could use the distraction from the things that troubled him. 

They only had to be around the harbor area, in order to hear Lina shouting. "What do you mean you can't take us to the outer world?" Lina was shaking a guy dressed like a merchant captain. "I didn't say that miss, but I have promised my crew that they can stay here during the summer festival. I'll be happy to take you along after the festival" the captain tried to reason with the angry redhead. Lina let go of him "You don't expect me to pay full price then" the asked in the sugary voice. For those who knew her that voice that normally meant "obey me, or I'll blow you up". 

The captain sweat dropped "I couldn't dream of charging you full price for that poor service, both you and your friends will get a 90% discount". _That's a smart man, _Eruk thought "Oh does that mean we can actually stay here during the festival" Sylphiel was overjoyed. "Yeah, well I guess so" Lina started, then lit up "oh what the hell, let's just have some fun while we can". Gourry and Taki were happy with the decision, but it seemed to bother Zelgadis. 

They started to head back to the inn. "Mr. Zelgadis? Is there something wrong?" Amelia tried to start a conversation with the moody chimera. "I don't like festivals" he merely said "I'm leaving town for a few days, the blind monks told me of an ancient spring, that supposedly have some sort of power over rocks. Perhaps I could figure out some something on my cure if I found it". Amelia looked a bit disappointed, then stuck a posse "I'll accompany you, as a true friend, and ally of justice!". Zelgadis muttered something, but decided to let her have her way.

"All right!!!! Festival time!!!!!!" Taki ran cheering through the hallway. _Damn teenager_ Eruk thought to himself. It wasn't even light outside, and he seriously doubted that anyone else was up yet. He turned around to go back to sleep. "So are you awake?" He jumped several feet. Xellos was standing next to his bed "Xellos? What are you doing here?" he growled. Xellos started waving a finger in front of him "now that…" Eruk cut him off "if you say it's a secret, I'm gonna hurt you", his voice was calm, but his glare showed that he was getting mad. The trickster priest's features was a mask of surprise for a few seconds, then he recovered "so you knew about that?" he smiled sheepishly. "Listen" Eruk sighed "either tell my why you are here, or GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!" Xellos floated up, so that he now was hovering out of Eruk's reach "no need for hostility, I only wanted to ask you a simple question…" Xellos phased out of sight for a few seconds, then reappeared, wearing a very revealing red Chinese dress. He spun around to show of his new clothes "does this dress make me look fat?" he finally asked . Eruk groaned and threw a pillow at Xellos, without any luck. . Xellos laughed as he teleported away. 

Eruk fell back into his bed, trying to relax. Just a few seconds later, Lina and Gourry flew through the door. "What happened here?" Lina shouted, while she prepared a fireball. Eruk slapped his forehead "I give up" he groaned. He stood up and pushed both of them back out of the door. "So nothing's wrong?" Gourry asked just before the door slammed shut. He crawled back into bed, hoping that he could get a few more hours of sleep. Once again the peace was disturbed, as a fireball exploded. It didn't make it better that he heard Lina screaming " What do you mean, by saying his temper is as bad as mine? I do NOT have a temper". He hid his face in the pillow. It was going to be one of those days, he just knew it. He started laughing, it was a muffled laugh, as his face was still hidden in the pillow, it was just so damn ironic. He had only been awake for a few minutes, but things already started out wrong. 

He was to wrapped up in his own thought to notice anything. He reacted on instinct as he felt a small gush of wind on his arm. He spun around, punching out with his right hand. He heard a soft scream, and caught a glimpse of purple. _Not good_ he thought, and tried to stop his punch, but failed. He felt his fist connect with warm skin. _Oh great_, he looked over the side of the bed, only to confirm what he had feared. _Congratulations, you have just won another great victory. Idiot._ He looked down at Sylphiels limp form, a small stream of blood was running down her nose. 

He lifted her up in the bed and started chanting a healing spell. Fortunately he had gotten better, the blood stopped flowing. He sighed, and took a piece of cloth from his backpack. Carefully he purred a little water over it, and started cleaning her face for any traces of blood. She was not unconscious, but definitely not awake either. He replaced the cloth with a clean one. He frowned a bit, the water in his canteen was a bit hot, he needed something he could use to cool down the swelling. He got an idea, placing the canteen on the table, he started chanting the incantation for the freeze arrow. He made a few errors, but he could definitely feel a power building up inside him. He pointed to the table _here goes nothing_ "Freeze arrow!" 

The power left his hands, and took form of an arrow. He watched for a spilt second, as the arrow continued growing on it's own. _What? That's not how it's supposed work!_ He threw himself at the floor, as the berserk arrow flew all over the room, leaving a trail of ice behind it. _Mental note: never try to use an unknown spell on a bad day_, he cursed himself. He tried to stand up, but found that he was pinned to the floor by ice. Gazing over at the bed, he noticed that Sylphiel had woken up. She sat up, rubbing her face. He tried to turn around to face her, it was kind of difficult with only 30 cm between the floor, and the temporary shield of ice, his freeze arrow had created. 

"Umm a little help here?" he asked. She turned away from him. Even though she turned her back to him, it was easy to see that she was crying. "Sylphiel, please. I'm sorry." he felt miserable. She jumped down from the bed a ran out of the room. He tried to maneuver after her, but it was impossible because of the ice. _Damn, DAMN, DAMN!!!!!!_ He slammed his hands into the floor. An unknown feeling of rage and despair started to build up inside him. All of his negative feelings started to cloud his mind, and he blacked out.

"Eruk? Eruk wake up, please" He slowly opened his eyes. Taki was sitting next to him. "So you're awake now? I was getting worried". He tried to stand up, but had to give it up. "I feel terrible" he complained. Taki stood up and helped him up "but you seemed to have enough energy to trash you room" she looked around "what a mess". He looked around, his room was clearly a mess. Most of the furniture was destroyed. There were still a little ice left a few places. He tried to remember what had happened, but at the moment he had no idea. 

Not wanting to get deeper into the subject, he tried to distract her. "Why are you here, I thought you were going out to enjoy the festival?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject into something he was a bit more comfortable with. Her face brightened "Oh yeah. The festival! I almost forgot about it!" She pushed him towards the door "I was hoping you would be my date, so come on". He let himself go with her, forgetting what she said about him being her date. He needed to sell some stuff to pay for the damage to his room anyway. If only he knew what really happened. They left the inn together, not noticing the trickster priest watching them from the other side of the restaurant. He was smiling, he would need to watch Eruk carefully to complete his mission.

Authors Notes:

Even though I didn't have as much time as I thought, I still managed the promised update.

Poor Gourry. I don't include him much in this story, and when I do it's only to get beat up by Lina… oh well such is life. Well, that last part was pretty intense. Eruk hits Sylphiel and she runs away. To top it all off, something happens while he has a blackout. What could it all mean?

Looks like I got at least one loyal fan. Slayers Otaku-girl, your reviews are greatly appreciated. Everybody else out there, review so that I know you exists. Oh…. I almost forgot, happy thanksgiving to all of you too, even though I don't quite understand what it's all about. We don't have that tradition here in Europe. But as they say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do…"


	17. Lucky us

Disclaimer: I don't own slayers

Lucky us! 

A summer festival

The town was a bustle. All sorts of small stands had been set up in the main street and the town square. Taki was running around between the different stands. "This is wonderful!" she was beaming. Eruk wasn't as exited as she was, it still bothered him that he actually had hit Sylphiel. True, it had never been his intention, but he had just been to angry to think. "Eruk come over here for a second" Taki was dragging him along to a nearby stand "just look at that dress. Isn't it wonderful?". He looked at it, not really caring "yeah, it's great" he said in a plain voice. She gave him an evil stare "you are not paying any attention! What I meant was, that it would be nice if SOMEBODY would buy it for me". She sent him a dreamy stare "please? Pretty please? Pretty pretty pleaseee?". 

He couldn't help but be amused by the way she acted "I understand, but I'm afraid I can't buy you anything before I sell some of these". He showed her a handful of gems, he had kept hidden in his pocket. She eyed them carefully "where did you get those? They look expensive" she asked. He had meant it to be a secret, but knowing how persistent she could be, he decided to tell her "you know how Lina gets money, stealing from bandits? Last time she burned down a hideout, I went after her without her knowing it. That way I could get some of their treasure for myself". His smile faded at bit "but I didn't want to spend it paying for some damage I wasn't even sure I was responsible for. Oh well…". 

Taki was mentally waving goodbye to the dress, but was determined not to let it ruin her day. They walked on, looking at the different things going on at the fair. They heard shouting from a nearby tent, and Taki ran over to see what was going on. Lina and Gourry was inside, engaged in yet another feeding frenzy. The tent was obviously an "all-you-can-eat-restaurant". Taki was staring with open mouth, even though she had seen them eat before, it never ceased to amaze her how much the two of them could eat. Suddenly Gourry grabbed a piece of meat from Lina's plate. As usual Lina responded with a fireball, only this time Gourry actually managed to dodge. 

The fireball was now on a collision course with Taki. She didn't have time to react before the world around her erupted in flames. "Taki!" Eruk was running toward the crater the fireball had left. Because of the smoke he couldn't see anything, but knowing how powerful Lina's magic was, he feared the worst. 

He was standing in the middle of the crater, but there was no trace of Taki, not even after the smoke had started to clear. "Taki!" he shouted. He heard a moan coming from behind him. He spun around and found Taki laying up against a wall. He rushed to her "are you ok? How did you get over here?". Apparently she wasn't hurt by the fireball, the only visible damage was a small wound in the back of her head, caused by the impact with the wall. "We'd better get you back to the inn" Eruk offered his hand to help her up. As she reached for it, she felt a burning pain on her chest. She fell back, screaming in pain. 

Eruk could only watch as she feverly tried to avoid any contact with the amulet around her neck. "It burns!!" She kept screaming. Eruk regained his senses and held the amulet away from her "that's funny, it don't fell hot to me" he wondered out loud. Taki was still covering the spot where the amulet had touched her skin. She looked at him, fighting to keep the tears at bay "Does this look like nothing to you?" she removed her hands and shoved him the burn the amulet had caused. 

It was a really bad wound, it looked like a full strength fireball had made an impact with that part of her body. He grabbed her hands by the wrists with one hand, and used his free hand to focus a healing spell. Her pain was now more easy to handle, but the burn was to serious for him to heal. They started walking back to the inn, at a slow pace. Eruk was holding the amulet all the way. 

"Back already?" the trickster priest asked them as they entered the inn "I though you were going to stay out all night". He was smiling at them as usual, but unlike some times, his smile was genuine. He was secretly savoring the pain that radiated from Taki. Eruk gave him an evil look "just leave us alone. She's hurt, in case you missed it". Xellos rose from his chair and went closer to them "that's a nasty burn" he concluded in his usual joyful manner, "how did you manage to get hurt like that?". Eruk was about to explain, when Xellos opened his eyes and stared at the amulet in his hand. 

"My my, that explains everything" he exclaimed. Eruk stared at him dumbfounded, as did Taki, despite of her pain. "You know something about this?" they asked in unison. Xellos had closed his eyes once again "This is a very rare thing indeed" he started explaining. "A long time ago these amulets were crafted to keep renegade sorcerers under control. When worn they not only blocks all of the sorcerers own power, but also shields him from the effect of any shamanism or black magic". 

They both stared at him in silence as he went on "of course the brilliant part about them was that, even though the wearer is shielded from any outside spell, he is NOT shielded from any pain they may cause". 

Eruk was the first to understand what Xellos was talking about "So basically, the pain Taki is feeling right now, is how a fireball would feel?" Xellos nodded "bingo! Exactly right!". Taki decided to try her luck "so do you know of a way to remove this stupid thing, mister Xellos?" she asked hopefully. Xellos rubbed his chin, while pretending to think "now what was that word again? Oh yes!" he leaned in close and whispered something. The amulet fell to the ground with a small clank. Taki's face lit up in a big smile "Thank you mister Xellos!!" she exclaimed, and hugged him. After holding on to him a few seconds she jumped away, clutching her burn "ow that hurts!". 

Xellos too was looking a little pale. _Probably from to many positive emotions _Eruk thought to himself, and couldn't help but to smile a little. "What was that word you whispered?" Taki asked curiously. Xellos smile grew, as he waved a finger in front of them "that, of course, is a secret". He laughed and teleported out of the room. "One time a joker, always a joker, I guess…" Eruk thought out loud, "now if I only could figure out why he helped us…" He shook his head, as to escape his thoughts "well, no need to worry about it now. Let's get you up to your room". He picked up the amulet and put it into his pocket, before he followed Taki to her room.

He only stayed as long as he needed in order to cast another healing spell. Once outside he took a deep breath, and prepared to think of an excuse for why his room looked as it did. Much to his surprise the innkeeper wasn't as upset about the damage as he had expected. Eruk only had to pay half of what he had feared. He figured it had something to do with him being a friend of the infamous Lina Inverse. 

After paying for the damage he left the inn, _I wonder where Sylphiel went? I haven't seen her since she ran away. Maybe I should go looking for her. _He decided on his next move. He walked around on the marked, hoping he would run into Sylphiel. The town wasn't that big, and he figured that the best place for her to hide was in a crowd. While he was looking, he found the time to enjoy himself. He hadn't been to a marked like this before, and he felt more and more intrigued with all of the different goods people was selling at the different stands. 

Unwillingly he found himself spending more time shopping and less time searching. _She's a big girl _he kept reminding himself _hell, most likely she's better to take care of herself that I am. _

He was standing at a small stand, looking at some wicked looking maces. He held one of them up to examine it closer. It was heavy, really heavy. He wouldn't characterize himself as weak anymore, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't picture himself using one of them in battle. "Ya like that?" he heard someone asking, he looked around, but couldn't see anyone. 

He felt someone tucking his cape. Looking down he saw a small fox-like man with a ridiculously large hat, smiling at him. "I don't think so, it's way too heavy" he smiled back to the fox. "You have to buy sumthin' mister" the fox pleaded " you are me first customer". Eruk shook his head and started to leave. The fox threw himself at Eruk's leg, and prevented him from leaving "please sir, I hafe 'to sell sumthin' or the boss won't have enough money to pay the rent for this stand!". 

Eruk couldn't help but smile a little, he had met many persistent shopkeepers before, but this guy took the first price. "Look I'm sorry" he started " but I'm trained in using light weapons, not something like this". The fox was still clinging to his leg, as if it was some kind of link to his own life "light weapons? I have light weapons! The boss won't be pleased when I sell sumthin' other than her weapons, but we need the money, see?" _He's gotta do a lot better than that to sell me something, but at least he's good entertainment,_ Eruk thought with a chuckle "ok ok, you win! Show me some of you other stuff then" he told the pleading fox. 

The fox moved at incredible speed to make room for more goods on the rugs, he used as a stand. The only ones Eruk had ever seen that could possibly match that speed, was Lina and Gourry heading for the dinner table. A good part of the rug was now empty, but it wouldn't stay that long from the looks of it. The fox was already emptying his cape and pockets for both usable and unusable items. "That's a lot of stuff alright Mr. Fox" Eruk said, a bit impressed that a person that small could possible hide that much gear. "Jillas" the fox corrected him "me name is Jillas". 

Eruk was rummaging through the stuff on the ground "what's that?" he asked, holding up a small bottle. "Uh… you can't have that" Jillas snatched the bottle out of his hands. Apparently his attempt to hide the bottles content was in vain, as Eruk found that he was still holding a small sheet of paper with the word "flea shampoo" written on it. "Forget about that" Jillas laughed sheepishly "we were talking weapons right?" Eruk nodded, and started looking for the weapons Jillas was talking about. 

There was a lot of weird looking stuff, that he wasn't able to identify. Eruk was instinctively looking for daggers and the like, but found nothing of the sort. "Um Mr. Jillas? I don't see any weapons here". Jillas was smiling his best merchant smile "you're from inside of the barrier, are you?". Eruk, who didn't know anything about any barrier, only nodded. "This is a bomb" Jillas was holding up a small spherical object. "It's a throwing weapon that explodes when you light it on fire" he smiled proudly " it's me own invention! I'm told they are similar to the fireball spells you people from inside the barrier uses". Eruk was impressed, but didn't show it. He had learned pretty fast, that the more exited he was to get a particular item, the higher the price went. "So it's basically a portable fireball?" he asked. Jillas was eagerly nodding. "It's a nice enough item" Eruk admitted, "but I'm in the middle of a journey, and I want to travel as light as possible". 

For a few seconds Jillas looked disappointed, but quickly went on talking about another of his items. "This here is me special gun" he held up a small weird looking thing. It was obvious that he was very proud of this special item. "And that does what, exactly?" Eruk asked plainly, to him it was just another useless object, that he couldn't see any use to. "It's me finest work!" Jillas was holding the gun close into his chest "it uses gunpowder to shoot a small bullet at a target". Eruk took another look at the weapon. It did bear some resemblance to the small hand crossbows he had seen in New Sairaag. 

Jillas went on with his sales speech "I bet me good eye that even a child could use this little baby…." Jillas was talking like a waterfall, but Eruk wasn't even paying attention anymore. _If that "gun" is as easy to use as he claims, maybe I should buy it for Taki? Our journey could get dangerous, and I would fell more comfortable if I knew that she had some sort of weapon to defend herself with._ His mind was racing. True, he didn't know if she wanted to go on, or go back to Seyruun. In any case she definitely needed a weapon. "Ok you win" he cut of Jillas, who was still talking about how wonderful his gun was, "how much?". Jillas was about to tell his price when he was cut of by an angry woman. 

"Where is he? I know that filthy mazuko is around here somewhere" the woman shouted. Eruk didn't have more than a few seconds to adjust himself to the new situation, before he found himself dodging blows from the woman's mean looking mace. "DIE NAMAGOMI!!!" he dodged another blow. Jillas threw himself at the enraged blonde "BOSS! That's not him! He's a customer! A customer boss!" 

he could just as well try to kill a dark lord with a toothpick, as he could stop the furious female. Another swing went right past his face. He took a step backwards, and tripped over some of the maces on the ground. From his place on the ground everything seemed like it went into a slow-motion. The mace was flying towards his face, leaving him with no chance of dodging. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable impact. He waited, and waited, and waited, but the strike never came. He finally dared to open one eye. Not believing what he saw he opened his other eye. He had been right after all. A giant lizard-man was standing next to him, and was apparently holding an antique looking teacup in front of his face, almost like a shield. The weirdest thing was that the mace really had stopped right in front of cup. 

The before so angry woman, had completely changed her character. She was smiling, and blushing, a little "Oh, I'm so sorry about that. For some reason I just thought you were HIM for a second" she made the word "him" sound like it was some sort of curse. Eruk stood up with the help of the lizard-man "Well, I'm alive." He dusted himself off "but I must admit that I feel sorry for whoever you thought I was, miss…?". She hid her mace away "my name is Filia Ul Copt, owner of Filia's mace and pottery heaven, and you don't need to fell sorry for that THAT NAMAGOMI XELLOS!". 

He took a step back "you mean THAT Xellos?" Filia eyed him suspiciously "you know him?" she was getting angry again. He took another step back "not exactly know him, but he has been tagging along with me and my friends" he took another look at her reaction, from how she reacted before, he knew better than to make her mad. Judging from the way her eyebrows were twitching, he figured that now was a good time to change the subject. "Um anyway, can I assume you are Jillas boss?" he asked conversationally. 

Filia turned her attention to the fox "are you still running around calling me boss?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Jillas swallowed hard "no boss, I'm not". Eruk walked over and picked up the gun "you never told me the price for this one Jillas". Filia quickly eyed the both of them quickly "oh you are a customer!" she exclaimed happily. In a matter of seconds she had sorted out all the mess caused by her outburst. "So what were you interested in Mr.?" she asked casually. Eruk held up the gun "this. It could prove rather useful". She looked at the weapon, then at Jillas, who at the moment was cowering behind the lizard-man. "I don't want to sell that little toy" she pouted "I sell maces and pots". The lizard-man leaned in and whispered something in her ear. "I know that, Gravos…. Oh alright, it's for little Val's future. 100 gold pieces". Eruk nodded "If you have it, I'll take two then". 

Filia gave Jillas another look. The fox was backing away "but boss I can't sell me last gun!" he whined. A twitch from her eyebrows made him change his mind. Eruk handed over two hundred gold pieces and took the two guns "nice doing business with you" he turned to leave. "Jillas, Gravos take care of the shop, and Val" Filia ordered and followed Eruk. "Miss Filia, can I ask why you are following me?" he asked the blonde. "I find it my duty to warn both you and your friends, of the many dangers you could get into following that MAZUKO around". Eruk shrugged "whatever". 

He headed for the all-you-can-eat tent, hoping that Lina and Gourry was still there. Already before they entered the tent, Eruk could hear Lina and Gourry fighting over the food. He also noticed that Filia looked more and more pale with each step. "Your friends wouldn't happen to be…" she asked nervously as they entered the tent. He gestured to the chaos in the middle of the room "If you are thinking of the infamous Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev, then you are right". 

Gourry pushed his plate away and looked around the room "Say Lina that girl over there with Eruk isn't that…. Uh what's her name?". Lina leaned back and folded her hands behind her head, not even looking in the directions he was pointing, "her name is Sylphiel, jellyfishbrain, why can't you ever remember?". She turned around "hey Eruk, Sylphi… huh?". She was taken by surprise, when she discovered that the girl with Eruk really wasn't Sylphiel. "Filia?" the sorceress exclaimed and threw herself at the young dragon "why don't you come over here and buy me a dessert, for old times sake?". Lina was practically pushing Filia back towards the table. "Miss Lina…" Filia desperately tried to change her red-haired friends mind "I actually don't have any money". Her word didn't have much of an effect on Lina. "Don't be such a cheapskate Filia, the last time we heard from you, you had your own shop" Lina said, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "Well, about my shop…" Filia started turning red "actually, I'm broke" she laughed sheepishly. "But I thought you loved maces and pottery?" Gourry exclaimed. Both of the girls looked at him in a state of shock, not only did what he said make sense, he actually had a point. 

"Yeah" Lina took over "with your expertise, how can you ever be broke?". Filia rubbed the back of her head nervously "it would seem that I loved my shop a little to much. You see, I couldn't bear to part with any of my wares…". Both Lina and Gourry banged their heads into the table. Eruk turned to leave, he had had enough of reunions. 

Authors notes:

So Filia finally showed up. I also tried to keep some hints of the strange accent Jillas has in the dub. What can I say? I just prefer the dub.

So I got a review from Mortez2000, it wasn't exactly flattering, but coming from you, I'll take it as a compliment.

Also thanks for the scoop on the whole thanksgiving thing, Slayers otaku girl. But I'll bet the turkeys don't like it one bit J 

In the next chapter, more hints will be given on Eruks true power. Stay tuned, please!


	18. making up

Disclaimer: Do I get sued if I don't say it?

Making up

The power awakens

After leaving Filia behind, Eruk had just walked around aimlessly_. I have been almost all over town, I wonder where Sylphiel has gone, _he was starting to get worried about her. Normally it was him who vanished, whenever he was troubled, this was just so unlike her. He drifted through the town, just taking in all the expressions. 

He walked away from the market square. The bustle was nice, but he needed some peace and quiet. It was starting to get dark. He found a nice spot at the harbor. For a while he just sat there, enjoying the feel of the wind, and the smell of the ocean. For some reason, he always found comfort in nature. _I can't believe I actually hit her!_ His mind wandered back to the incident at the inn. It was like he wasn't in control of his own body. _I'm just making excuses for myself aren't I? _He felt terrible. _Maybe I should have a drink, and head back to the inn. I'm sure she's back there already_.He looked around and found a small pub. It wasn't the best place in town, but at the moment he didn't care. 

He entered the room. It was just as he had imagined, from looking at it outside, a really rough place. There was mostly drunk sailors there. He sat down at a small table in the corner. The room was pretty dark, and he wasn't able to see clearly. But over the crowd he heard something familiar, he was pretty sure that it was Sylphiels voice. He scanned the room another time, looking for her. He found her at the bar, surrounded by sailors, apparently shrinemaides wasn't regular customers in that place. He moved a bit closer, careful of not giving himself away. From the tone of her voice, he figured that she was drunk. 

"Hey cutie, why don't you come with me and the guys? We can have some real fun." One of the sailors really tried to put the moves on her. Eruk was tense, nobody should be allowed to talk to her like that. He was ready to step in, if he felt like it was needed. "Nohuh I don'tsh want to" She mumbled. Eruk relaxed a bit, at least she was still somewhat able to think. "Come on, honey. You know you want to" the sailor kept pushing her. 

"Mister, I believe she said no" Eruk had decided that it was time to act, before she did something she would regret later. "You just keep your nose out of this, sonny" it was rather obvious that the sailors didn't like his intrusion one bit. Eruk pushed his way to Sylphiels side "I asked you nice once. If you insist on harassing my girlfriend, then I'll do something other than just ask nice". His voice was a low threatening whisper. 

Normally his tone, and the aggressive stance he assumed, would be enough to make most people think twice, but these sailors were to drunk to just give up. I their eyes, he was just a little shrimp who stood in the way of their fun. 

He shoot Sylphiel a look. There was no need to worry about her, for now. She was just sitting there staring at the drink in front of her. He made a weak smile, he had never thought he would se her drunk like that. He turned his attention back to the three sailors who were approaching. All of them were much larger than him, and probably a lot stronger. But they were drunk, that gave him the edge he needed. 

This was the first fight where he really felt that he was the one who held the best cards. He had no problem dodging their attacks. He wasn't as strong as they were, but he was faster, and able to hit them where it hurt the most. He wasn't really thinking about the fight. _This is my fault, all my fault,_ was the only thought that entered his mind. If only he hadn't lost his temper and hit her, then none of this would have happened. He felt his anger rising, and with that, his strength was rising as well. 

Two of the sailors were already out could, but the last one kept coming at him. _Just leave me alone, LEAVE ME ALONE! _His mind was screaming. He was no longer thinking, he was just acting on instinct. He dashed forward and grabbed the sailors troath, and slowly but sure, lifted him of the ground with one hand. His eyes were glowing with an unholy red light. The other visitors could only watch in horror as he tightened his grip. He started laughing an strange inhuman laughter, as he started choking the man. 

Inside his head was only darkness. He sort of liked it that way. No need to hold back, no need to even think of holding back. It was a calming feeling for him to just tighten his grip, fell the life flow out of his opponent. He shook his head, an annoying light was shining through the darkness. _"It's true that I don't like violence, but if you want to survive you have to defend yourself sometimes". _The words Sylphiel had said to him, after he killed his first human opponent, came back to him. _Sylphiel wouldn't want this, _the light beckoned him. 

With an angry scream, he tossed the unconscious sailor up against a wall. Slowly he regained the ability to think, and his eyes were turning back to their normal emerald color. He stumbled back to the bar, leaning in towards the desk. "Sylphiel, were leaving" he whispered. She didn't have much of an reaction, except some faint complaints about her not having finished her drink yet. All eyes were glued to the couple as the left, but no one dared to interfere.

Back at the inn he got her to her room without commotion. "Hey cutie, don'tscha wanna buy me'sch a drink?" she mumbled as he put the drunk shrinemaiden in her bed. Eruk was about to leave when he noticed that her face had started getting some really interesting green shades. Acting quickly he managed to get a jar, and hold it under her face before she messed up her bed._ I guess this means no sleep for me tonight, _he thought as settled in on a chair next to the bed, doing the best he could to comfort his drunk friend.

The night was quiet, and without any accidents. Eruk was relived when he saw the sun rise in the horizon. Luckily Sylphiel had been sleeping most of the night. He hoped that she had something in her magic arsenal that would help her cure a bad hangover. He stood up and stretched, spending the entire night on a chair wasn't exactly his idea of a pleasant night, but he had managed to get a few hours sleep. He started cleaning up the room, not that he enjoyed cleaning, but he was determined to wait until Sylphiel woke up, and he had to do something to stay awake. He really needed to talk to her and apologize for what had happened yesterday. He still couldn't forgive himself for hitting her. 

He wouldn't have felt so bad if it had been some of his other companions. He couldn't help but to let a shiver run through his body, when he thought of what would have happened if it had been Lina, who had been in the way of his fist. A soft moan ripped him away from his thoughts and into reality. Sylphiel had opened her eyes. He sat back down on the chair "good morning" he said casually. She tried to sit up, but a pain in her head made her give it up. "What happened to me?" she whimpered. He tried his best to explain what made her feel like she did. She closed her eyes, blushing a bit "I… got drunk?" he nodded in reply "I have never seen anyone as drunk as you were", he said truthfully. 

"I don't remember anything at all" she admitted. Eruk knew that he had to take a chance "Sylphiel" he started "Do you remember that I… sort of hit you?" his voice had lowered to a whisper. She opened her eyes and stared at him "You… hit me? No, I don't remember. But why?". He took a deep breath "I didn't know it was you" he admitted "I had been disturbed several times during the morning, and in the end, I just snapped". She shook her head "I don't remember at all". He brushed a hand over her face "It would seem that I'm getting better at magic" He smiled weakly "the bruise I gave you are gone". 

They were interrupted by Taki running down the hallway "YAY, FESTIVAL!!!!". Eruk almost fell out of his chair, _not again_! He thought, as he remembered how all the troubles had started yesterday. Her eyes brightened "oh that's right, it is the last day of the festival isn't it?". He gave her a quick nod. "Then why don't we forget this ever happened and enjoy the festival" she asked with a small smile. _Just like that, huh?_ He thought. He had never expected her to forgive him that fast, but he really didn't mind. _That's just the way she is, I guess_. He thought. 

He stood up, looking at her with a questioning look "are you coming?" he asked. She didn't move, or answer. "Sylphiel?" he asked again. "Could you please leave me alone for a while?" she asked. His confidence crumbled, but only for a second. There was something in her voice that made him think, that it wasn't related to him at all. "Sylphiel, something wrong?" he asked carefully, not really wanting to her the answer, if it was connected to him. She looked at him, blushing a bit, "I need to change my clothes, and with you standing there…." She needn't say more. He gave her a quick bow "I'll wait outside, my lady". With those words he spun around and left the room. 

She was looking in his direction as he left. It always made her fell funny, when he pulled that chivalrous routine on her. She couldn't help but put to think of him, as she changed her clothes. She giggled, she had always dreamt of meeting a handsome, chivalrous prince. "Isn't that what all girls want?" she whispered, as she were browsing through the clothes she had brought along. It was amazing how he acted just like Gourry at times. She was still in love with Gourry, but she knew that there was no way he would ever look at her as something else that a friend. And it was pretty obvious that he and Lina were really close. Eruk on the other hand… . She shook her head "I shouldn't think like this" she told herself, as she looked into the mirror. The outfit she wore was similar to her regular clothes, except that they were new, the colors were brighter and didn't show the signs of wear that he old ones had. She ran a hand through her hair and went outside to join him. 

Eruk was leaning up against the wall. His head was lowered and his eyes closed. She could her him breathe heavily. "Are you sleeping?" she asked. His eyes snapped open, "no, I was meditating" he told her, "but I must admit that I could easily doze of, if I didn't have a date with my favorite shrinemaiden". Even though his hair covered a large part of his face, she could see that he was smiling. She was blushing, he could be such a flirt sometimes. Politely she ignored his teasing, and followed him down the stairs. "Do you want breakfast first, or should we get something later?" he asked. She thought for a while, "I think breakfast would be good, beside I'm sure miss Lina and Gourry dear are the too". He nodded, and started to head for the restaurant. 

Just as he reached for the door to the restaurant, it flew open. Xellos came running out at an incredible speed. "It's so good to see you again, my dear Filia" Eruk heard him shout. The next one to rush past him was Filia. She was swinging her mace around wildly "JUST YOU WAIT, YOU FILTHY PIECE OF GOOD FOR NOTHING RAW GARBAGE MAZUKO SCUM!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouted, sounding like she wanted nothing more than to catch up with the trickster priest and smash his fingers one by one. The next to follow was Lina, who dragged Gourry along, "hey Filia come back here, I still haven't got the breakfast you promised me" she protested. 

Eruk gathered all the guts he could muster and peeked into the restaurant. All of his body was tense and he was ready to dive to safety if needed be. He relaxed as the only one he could see was Taki. She was sitting at a large table, looking utterly confused. He motioned for Sylphiel to follow. "What happened here?" they asked the confused waitress in unison. She shook her head "I don't know. Miss Lina, Gourry and that blonde girl Filia, were just having breakfast when mister Xellos came to join us". She hesitated "Mister Xellos just said hello to miss Filia, and she went all ballistic". 

Eruk nodded as he remembered his own first encounter with the blonde shopkeeper. "yeah, she seems to have some sort of grudge against Xellos that's for sure." He turned to the shrinemaiden "maybe you can tell us something?" he asked. She thought for a while, "I don't think I have ever seen that woman before, or heard Lina mention her name. I'm sorry but I don't know anything about her". 

The three of them went on to eating breakfast. The door opened again and Amelia ran into the restaurant. Eruk, who had his back to the door, noticed how Taki's smile grew as she saw the young Seyruun princes. He turned around to follow her gaze. "Hi there Amelia!" Taki shouted to get her attention. The two of them had apparently missed each other. "So did mister Zelgadis find his cure?" Sylphiel asked. Amelia looked away for a second "No. But we did find the spring he was searching for…" she smiled broadly "it was magic water, that allowed plants to grow places they usually wouldn't do otherwise". Taki went back to her breakfast "that don't sound very useful" she sighed. "Oh I wouldn't say that" Amelia started to explain "We found it in a small desert village. The people there made a living growing rice in the sand". She suddenly went silent as something dawned on her "of course, that's what they used the holy water for! Boy I'm glad Mister Zelgadis decided check out the village library, before he used it on himself". 

They fell silent for a second, they all had the same mental image of Zelgadis covered with rice plants. Eruk was the first one who started laughing, but the others joined in shortly after. "Mr. Eruk that's not just" Amelia giggled. He waved her comment away "yeah I know, I know. But you were thinking the same thing" he countered. "So are you going out to the finale of the festival?" Taki asked. "Just what is this grand finale?" Amelia asked her friend. Taki shrugged " I don't know really, but there is a huge fire gathered just outside town, maybe the finale has something to do with that". 

A waiter came over to their table "I'm sorry, but I heard what you were talking about" he said "every year we finish the festival with a great fire and fireworks". They all nodded. "I love fireworks" Sylphiel exclaimed "all those colors, it's just so pretty". Amelia agreed enthusiastically. Eruk couldn't help but wonder why mages of their caliber would find colored fire that exciting, not the he didn't like fireworks, but they seemed capable of making fireworks with a flick of their wrists. They talked some more before Amelia yawned and excused herself "Mr. Zelgadis made me walk all night, I'd better get some sleep if I want to stay awake to see the fireworks". Eruk turned to Taki "Sylphiel and I were going out to enjoy the festival why don't you come along?". She nodded eagerly "Of course I will. I was in to much pain to do anything yesterday, and I'm not one to miss a chance to have fun". 

The three of them spent most of the day walking around aimlessly. When they passed Filias stand, Eruk noticed that the blonde shopkeeper were ordering Jillas and Gravos around. She crossed her arms and gave a satisfied nod. She turned her head and saw three familiar faces. "Oh hi there" she waved for them to come over. "Miss Lina told me that we are leaving on a boat tonight". "We?" they asked in unison. She nodded, still looking like it was the most natural thing in the world "of course. I have to come with you in order to keep an eye out for that NAMAGOMI Xellos". Once again she made his name sound like a curse. 

"You really don't like Mr. Xellos, do you?" Taki asked. "I am a former priestess of the fire dragon king, therefore it's my duty to keep an eye out for any evil plot he may have" Even though she did her best to hide it, there was a bit of pride and arrogance in her voice. "My my Filia, I didn't know you cared" without making a sound, Xellos had appeared behind her. Needless to say, it made Filia jump in shock. "You!" she screamed in disgust. "I just can't help it" he smiled "you are just being much to kind to me". Filia drew her mace and pointed at him "You really are begging for a beating" she threatened. Xellos smiled nervously as he backed away "Oh Filia dearest, you know that you don't mean that". She advanced further "oh yes I do". With that, the both of them vanished down the street in a cloud of dust. "That is just one weird relationship" Taki commented "They are just as bad as the two of you" she added with a sly smile. Eruk and Sylphiel looked at each other and blushed "we don't have any kind of relationship" they said at the same time. Taki giggled "whatever you say".

Evening came, and with that, the main event of the festival. "ALRIGHT, FOOD!!!!" Lina cried, as she tossed herself at the tables that had been set up outside of town. It didn't take long before she had eaten all the food, with a little help from Gourry. "There they go again" Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Nothing wrong with enjoying a free meal Zel" Lina countered, and Gourry backed her up. "That's Lina Inverse for you" Eruk said, as he shook his head. "You better believe it" the redhead exclaimed, assuming one of Amelias posses. The princess spun around "Miss Linaaa, you're stealing my act again!" she whined. Ignoring Amelia she sat down, patting her belly. It was a time to relax. 

Most of the villagers kept their distance to the strange group of tourists. Zelgadis rather enjoyed the distance, and was sitting under a tree playing a guitar he had borrowed at the inn. 

Eruk withdrew himself from the group. Just sitting and staring into a fire was getting to him. He knew that it was times like this people thought back on their lives. But he didn't have a past. He sat down on a small hill some distance away. From there he could see the entire festival area, and enjoy the silence at the same time. He let himself fall backwards, so that he was looking up on the sky. He saw a few shooting stars before he closed his eyes and focused his ears on the sound from the festival. 

He tensed when his senses warned him of another person nearby. He kept his eyes closed and focused on tracking the person with his ears. He could hear that the person moved closer to him. He relaxed, there wasn't any indication that his visitor had any hostile intentions. He heard a rustle in the grass. The person was now sitting next to him. Now his curiosity got the better of him, and he opened his eyes. Sylphiel was sitting next to him. "Oh, I thought you were sleeping", she sounded surprised. He sat up "nah, just relaxing". A silence fell over them for awhile. "Why aren't you down at the festival?" it was Sylphiel who broke the silence first. He shrugged "I don't know, really. Somehow I just feel out of place". Sylphiel started to say something, but were interrupted by a small explosion nearby. She let out a small scream. Eruk jumped up, thinking that he was being attacked. Both of them felt incredible stupid when they realized that the "explosion" was noting more than some fireworks down at the festival. They looked at each other, then up at the sky. "Embarrassing…" Eruk muttered, as he sat back down. 

For a while they just forgot about everything around them, and enjoyed the fireworks. Time passed and the sky was no longer covered in glittering, colored fire. Sylphiel stood up "I am going back to the others, why don't you come with me?" she held out her hand. He nodded and took her hand. Together they walked back to the area that was brightly illuminated by the now burning fire. "HIYA lovebirds" Taki yelled when they entered the light area. Sylphiel blushed lightly and let go of his hand. The next hour was spent listening to Lina explain just how they were going to the outer world. Of course, the only one that was clueless about their journey was Gourry, but the others knew better that to do anything that would anger the short statured sorceress. Listening to Lina gave Eruk an idea of just how big the outer world really was. Going past the desert of destruction by ship was only the beginning.

The fire was dying out, and the villagers started to head back to their houses. The small group of adventures also started heading back to the inn. They had to make sure they didn't miss their boat. _Knowing Lina's reputation I'm sure the captain would wait for all eternity_ Eruk thought to himself before he drifted off to sleep.

Authors notes:

Another chapter done. I'm about to introduce the bad guys of this fic now. Hope you are looking forward too it.

Not much to say this time, but keep reading.


	19. Swordsman and sorceress

Disclaimer: Not even pleading can make the slayers mine…..Sigh…..

Swordsman and sorceress

Who are they?

A large man walked through the empty hallway. His heavy black armor made a loud noise with each step. Even though he was limping slightly he tried his best to hide it. He was heading for a large, closed doorway. He had always hated to give a report on a mission, no matter if he had been successful or not. It wasn't fear, it was more a matter of dealing with people with word, rather than his sword. He had never been very talkative. To him, all that mattered was getting the job done and move on to the next one. He was a fighter, not a talker. However, his current employer was somewhat different. 

He took a deep breath, and pushed the massive door open. Looking around, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dim candlelight inside. If he could choose, he would prefer darkness. It suited him better. He frowned a little at the group of people inside, knowing fully well that his helmet hid most of his face. Somewhere deep inside he was troubled by the actions of his new master. But he was just a mercenary. Sure he had benefited greatly from his new "enhancements", and it was not his job to ask questions anyway. Inside a group of cloaked people were waiting for him. At the sound of the door opening, one of the people left the group. He was an older, somewhat short man. He was dressed like most of the mages that had come from the barrier lands. His long flowing robes reached almost all the way to the floor, and gracefully followed all of his movements. The armored man walked forward and knelt down. "You have called for me?" he asked gruffly. The old sorcerer nodded slowly "Ah Ascard, back in one piece I see". The aging mage walked towards the kneeling man. "So tell me, Ascard, how did it go? I assume you were successful?". 

Ascard stood up and removed his helmet, letting his long black hair fall down along his back. The scent of blood slowly spread in the room, causing the cloaked people to turn away in disgust. Across his face he had a large wound. Painful as it was, Ascard refused to give into his feelings. A wound was nothing special, it would heal in time. "They did resist M'lord, but in the end we got them all" Ascard said plainly "and as a special bonus, we got you this". He opened his hand to reveal a red gem attached to a golden chain. The mage nodded "you certainly prove to be better than we had hoped for". He reached out and took the amulet "This is not one of the strongest anti-magic amulets created, but it will do nicely anyway". With a satisfied nod, he put the amulet into his pocket. He looked the black clad warrior over "your already considerable skills, has benefited greatly from the process, haven't they?". Ascard bowed slightly "that they have, M'lord, and my power is growing for every battle" He declared proudly. 

The mage distanced himself from the warrior in front of him "Yes, so far you have proven to be our most successful agent" he nodded "you have completed almost all of the missions we have assigned you to". Ascard raised any eyebrow in surprise "almost all of my missions, M'lord?" he asked "To my knowledge I have completed ALL of my missions successfully". The mage turned his back to him "yes, I preferred to let you think that, believing you had made but a small mistake. But it would seem that our little problem have grown". Ascard narrowed his eyes "tell me then, M'lord, just what was that mistake?" The mage looked at Ascard over his right shoulder "Your mistake was in the elimination of the first test subject. You failed in killing a defenseless failure". 

Ascard took a step back "I assure you, M'lord, his heart wasn't beating and there was no breath to be detected. I even tossed him into the astral void to get rid of the body". The mage nodded "I know Ascard, I know. But for some reason he's out there alive and well. We have heard from our spies that he's about to leave the barrier lands". "You knew, but didn't care to tell?" Ascard frowned. The mage nodded "I too believed that he was nothing but a weak failure, but somehow he has managed to survive all my attempts to destroy him". The mage stopped talking for a while and stood deep in thought. Ascard started to sweat, he only knew all to well what happened to people who didn't measure up to the standards. He snapped out of his thoughts as the aging mage closed in on him. "You are a different matter though" he smirked " that mission was before your… enhancement… mistakes is to be expected of normal humans". Ascard allowed himself a deep breath, before the mage went on "It's for that reason alone, that you are allowed to live". Ascard swallowed hard "I won't disappoint" he promised. 

The mage went back to the group "to make sure of that, Ascard, we have assigned a partner to aid you". Ascard frowned, he didn't need a partner. Either he worked alone, or with a group of underlings that would obey his command. Underlings was useful at times, but definitely not partners. The mage seemed to have read his mind "I know you always have preferred to work alone, but this time you WILL not fail". He made a small gesture with his left hand, and the group moved to the side. "May I introduce your new partner… Neela" he pointed to the spot where the crowd had been moments before. 

"Umm, I don't see anyone, M'lord?" Ascard said plainly, surely lord Loid wasn't talking about a pureblood mazuko. They had the habit of just disappearing and appearing as they saw fit. He had secretly hoped that his new "partner" would at least be a chimera like himself, half human, half mazuko. "NEELA!!!" the old wizard, screamed at the top of his lungs. 

"Did I miss anything?" a female voice came from a door in the back of the room. "Neela, I thought I asked you to STAY PUT!!!" Loid shouted. Ascard closely inspected the woman who was obviously supposed to be his new partner. She didn't look like she was more than in her mid twenties, in his mind a rookie. She had long flowing blue hair that was a bit curly. Her outfit seemed to be pieced together with everything strange that she could get her hands on. Her main clothing consisted of a red T-shirt that looked like it was a few sizes short. The right leg of her black pants were cut off at the midsection of her thigh. Behind her, a pink cape attached to a ridiculously oversized piece of shoulder armor was dragging along the floor. A cape that was far to long for a person her size, Ascard noticed. Her boots almost looked like a pair of pants, seeing as they reached all up to the mid part of her thigh. The same was the case with her gloves, they covered almost all of her arms, except from a small part in the shoulder area. In her right hand she carried a very large mace shaped like a teddybear. Ascard shook his head. He had nothing against maces, but that particular one was just… so wrong. 

"Neela, I hope you have a REALLY good reason for walking out like that" Loid was so angry with her that Ascard was surprised that smoke didn't blow out of the wizards ears. Neela was deep in thought "oh an excuse? Do I really have to come up with one? But that's so hard" she said in an overly happy tone. A couple of people ran out of the crowd to hold Loid back and thereby preventing him from strangling the girl. "Yes, Neela you DO need an excuse" Loid was summoning all of his patience in order to deal with the girl. A smile grew on her face "oh now I know!" she giggled, while jumping up and down "Nimph said that she REALLY wanted to have some candy, so naturally I had to go find her some". Everybody in the room face faulted. "Listen Neela, I'm having more and more trouble tolerating that pet of yours" Loid was fighting to regain his cool. Ascard took another look at her, trying to locate the "pet". 

A small movement made him focus on her left shoulder, where a somewhat large lollypop could be seen. A small face peeked out from behind it "oh goodness! Are we on duty now?" the small fairy squeaked. Quickly it opened a hidden room in the shoulder guard, and stashed the lollypop there. Then it flew up and hovered right above the girls head. As soon as the fairy left her shoulder, a change came over the girl. Her eyes changed color from light blue to deep red, and her stance turned more aggressive. She turned her attention to Ascard "that's the looser you want me to work with?" she asked "he's certainly not much to look at". Ascard drew his sword "if you're spoiling for a fight, just bring it on!". She waved him off "please put that toothpick of yours away. I'm here to make sure you don't screw up again, not to humiliate you". Ascard face turned red with anger. Nobody insulted him, or his sword. It was his most precious possession, and the only thing he had from before his transformation. 

Loid stepped between the two "you two better get along, or I'll just decide that we don't need either of you". Ascard re-sheathed his massive broadsword, and left the room. "Working with a partner…" he growled "and a crazy girl like her of all things! I'll just have to end this quickly, and get rid of both her and the failure". 

Authors Notes:

It's been a week since my last update? Where has the time gone? Well, nevermind that, I'm back and that's all that matters.

I know this chapter is a bit on the short side, but I just thought these guy should have their own chapter. And Mortez2000 thanks a bunch for helping out with Neelas outfit, you ideas really helped me out. And Slayers Otaku-girl, What should Lina and Gourry do, besides eating? There isn't any bandits around, for now… Just kidding. They will get a bigger part as the story progresses. 

"Who else is going to join?" you ask. Who's left? Martina? Well, I might still have a surprise or two up my sleeve, but unless you keep reading, You'll never know…. See ya!


	20. So peaceful?

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own slayers…wish I did though…

So peaceful?

A journey by sea

The ship was slowly making it's way across the vast blue ocean. Eruk was standing at the side looking at the water beneath. Finally they were moving forward again. He turned around to see what the others were doing. Amelia was the first to capture his attention. Somehow it didn't surprise him that she was standing in the crows nest singing some silly song about justice and love. At least to him it sounded silly, but there was no doubt in his mind that she meant every word quite seriously. He mentally added high places to his list of things Amelia liked, just below love, justice and Zel. A smile spread across his face, too bad Zel had gone below deck to avoid the sailors staring at his face. Eruk rather enjoyed watching Amelia follow him around like a puppy. He took another look at the hyper princess, in his mind she was a nice enough person, but her love for justice really could get on his nerves. Although it was quite amusing when she tried to lecture Lina about the subject. 

He tried to locate Lina and Gourry, but they were nowhere to be seen. _To bad I can't make a bet about their whereabouts_ he thought. Even though it had only been a few hours since they left the port, he was willing to bet all the money he had, that they were off to raid the ships hold for any food they could get their hands on.He decided to leave them alone. He had learned the hard way that getting between Lina and a meal was not a smart thing to do, unless you really liked pain that is. He rolled his eyes, Xellos was the only one who would do something like that on purpose. He shuddered, there was something that he didn't like about the smiling mazuko, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Xellos could be annoying, but he hadn't done anything to provoke that effect from him. Luckily nobody had seen Xellos for some time now. 

"Isn't it boring just to look at water all the time?" A voice came from behind, snapping him out of his thought. He turned around to face a giggling Taki. "You can't just sneak up behind people and scare them like that" he desperately tried to control his heartbeat. "So sorry, but I just couldn't resist" she was still snickering. Eruk decided that if he were to keep up a cool appearance, he'd better change the subject. "Mind if I ask why you are wearing that outfit?" he asked while gesturing to her bathing suit "surely you can't be thinking of jumping overboard, and swim to the outer world?". She gently hit him in the back of his head. "And why shouldn't I?" she walked up beside him and looked like she was getting ready to jump. "You are kidding, right?" he asked nervously. She sighed "you are no fun, any decent man would have rushed to my rescue by now". She climbed back down. He gave her a sly smile "just remember Taki, I'm not a decent man. I'm the dirty perverted fool that ruined your clothes in a damp prison cell". His quick mouth left her speechless for a short period. She gave him a glare, and walked away. The young warrior started to wonder if he should have been more tactful. He got his answer a moment later when she popped her head around a cabin that blocked his view. "Oh and about my outfit" she giggled "I don't plan to swim, but us girls decided that it would be nice getting a tan for a change. I would invite you to join us, but seeing how you are a perverted fool, I guess I should say no peeking". She waved coyly and vanished from sight. He turned back to watching the waves, and listening to the ongoing song from the crows nest. 

Looking at the waves was getting pretty boring, and when he found that he was actually starting to humming along with the song from the crows nest, he realized that he had been standing there far to long. Shaking his head forcefully, he decided that he really needed to get away. He stretched a bit, and decided to head down to his cabin to get some sleep.

The sound of the ship rocking gently in the sea breeze was like music to him. They young Seyruun princess had a pretty voice, but her songs left much to be desired when it came to the originality of her texts. He stopped in front of the door to his cabin. Or to be exact, the door leading to one of the many storerooms aboard the ship. His cabin, as the captain had called it, was nothing more than a small room that was normally used to store the ships drinking water in. As he reached for the doorknob, he heard voices from inside. He pressed his ear against the door. "No Gourry! I already told you, THAT goes in THERE". Eruk was pretty sure that the voice belonged to Lina, but what in the hell were they doing in there? He kept on listening. "But Lina…" it sounded like Gourry was pretty unsure of what he had to do "that's not the way Zel told us to do it". A dump sound could be heard from inside, Eruk was pretty sure that it was the sound of Lina hitting Gourry. "Gourry, you jellyfish brain. We are doing this my way, not Zel's way, so you just get to work". He had a funny feeling that busting inside right now would prove to be hazardous to his health. As he started to back away from the door, fate would, that a rather large wave hit the ship and caused him to fall over and through the door and into a small room . Two pairs of eyes were fixed in his direction. "I'm sooo dead" he mumbled, not even looking up from the floor. 

"You ok?" Lina poked him with her foot. Eruk raised his face. Lina stood slightly bent over, looking at him, while Gourry was busy trying to pick the lock on the door that would take them deeper into the ships hold, and the food supply. _So that's what they were doing, I should have know_ he thought. "Lina, I don't think this is working" Gourry complained. Eruk dusted himself of while Lina turned her attention to her blonde sidekick. "Come on Gourry, if we don't get that door opened, we wont get any food until dinner". Gourry's face turned into a mask of horror "Dinner?" he gasped "that's 3 hours without food? Oh the horror!". He turned back to his futile attempt at lockpicking. Lina turned her attention back to the newcomer " anyway, what brings you here?" she asked. Eruk looked at her funnily "I should be asking the same question. This is my cabin". Lina looked around "this is your cabin? It looks more like a storeroom to me". Eruk sighed, she was right. But what could be expected from a 90% discount?. 

"Lina?" Gourry stood up and stretched his back "why do I have to do this?". Lina turned around and glared at the swordsman, who was scratching his head "why don't we just do as we always do, and blast the door with your magic?" Lina grabbed his collar "Take a look around you moron, this is a WOODEN ship". He blinked at her "Yeah so?" She sighed as she let him down "Even this amateur sorcerer" she pointed at Eruk "knows what would happen if I were to blast the door with a fireball". Eruk shuttered, she was right, he didn't even want to think about the consequences of a fireball. He had to do something before the hunger got the better of her. Gourry was casually leaning up against the locked door "I still say we should get Zel to help us out, he's the only one who knows how to use these things anyway" he held up the lockpicks. Something fell in place inside Eruks head, he was pretty sure he had seen that kind of tools before. "Mind if I take a crack at it?" he asked, as he reached for the tools. Gourry handed them over without protest. 

He knelt down in front of the door and examined the lock. Both Lina and Gourry watched in silent anticipation, well as silent as they could be with a rumbling stomach. As Eruk worked on the lock, a faint memory came back to him, and when he heard a faint "click" from inside the lock, he had no doubt, he had definitely done this before. "Alright! FOOD" the starving duo behind him cried, and charged forward at maximum speed. Just as he had done many times before, Eruk rolled out of the way before Gourry slammed into the door. Lina, not able to break on the short distance, ran head first into his back. "Gourry what are you doing?" The petite sorceress asked in an annoyed, if somewhat muffled, voice. Gourry was still pressed against the door "Lina? This door seems to be locked". Lina pushed herself of Gourry's backside. "You!" she turned her anger to Eruk, who was desperately trying to think of an excuse. Sure, she had said it herself, it wasn't actually an brilliant idea to blow him up while on the ship, but judging from her look it didn't seem like he was getting away unhurt. 

He sweatdropped as Lina advanced at him with a wicked smile plastered to her face. "Maybe the door just opens the other way?" he suggested, before the hungry sorceress decided to eat him instead of the food behind the closed door. "Don't give me that!" she cried and lounged forward. Never before had Eruk been forced to deal with strength in that magnitude, and he took quite a beating. Suddenly she stopped in mid-punch. Slowly she turned her head in a movement that resembled a predator hearing a prey behind it. Gourry had used the chaos to open the door, and sneak into the storeroom, and was now happily chewing on some dried meat. For about five seconds Lina stared at the door in disbelief, it had indeed been opened in the direction Eruk had suggested. She looked down on Eruk and gave him a nervous smile "Oh well, everybody makes mistakes right? Hey Gourry that's my food". She rushed inside to join her companion. 

Even though the day was coming to an end, it was still warm. For Sylphiel, Filia and Taki the day had been just wonderful. A journey by sea was the best way to travel, since it meant no work whatsoever. "So Filia, why did you insist on coming along as well?" Taki asked their new companion. Filia pushed her sunshades into her forehead "I thought I already told you. As a former priestess of the fire dragon king, I have a duty to keep an eye out for whatever evil scheme that MAZUKO Xellos has in mind". She gazed lovingly into the small basket that was placed next to her lounge chair, "Isn't that right Val? Filia-mama is going to make sure that namagomi isn't up to something". Sylphiel and Taki sent each other a questioning look. Filia was one of Linas friends, and Linas friend tended to be somewhat weird, but talking to an egg? 

Taki shook her head and sipped her drink. "Sylphiel, don't you want a drink?" She asked, and raised her glass "I'm sure that one of these nice sailors would love to fetch you one". Sylphiel snapped out of her daze-like condition. She had been busy worrying over her current outfit. Sure, Taki had done a really good jop picking out a bikini for her, blue had always been one of her favorite colors, and she really liked those cute little teddybear images that was woven into the fabric. But the thought of shoving as much skin as she did, made her uncomfortable. She shook her head "no I'm fine, but thanks anyway". She looked away, the truth was that she wasn't to comfortable to have some strange men looking at her like this. Taki noticed the way she blushed "Oh so that's why" she teased the shrinemaiden "You are too shy!". Sylphiels silence made her feelings quite obvious, and Taki just couldn't resist teasing the poor shrinemaiden some more. "Oh I see now, you don't feel comfortable around the sailors, but I'll bet that you are just dying to have your wonderful Eruk to…". 

"NO" Sylphiel screamed. She fell silent as both Taki and Filia stared at her. "It's nothing like that" she started explaining, turning redder with each word. "We are just friends, nothing more" her blush had turned into a shade of red that rivaled even Lina's hair. "Now Taki leave the poor child alone" Filia scolded the young waitress "It's easy to see that she's hit real bad". 

Sylphiel looked away from her so called friends. If they insisted on making fun of her, she wouldn't stop them.

A cold gush of wind swept over the three girls. Taki shuddered "It's getting awful cold out here. I think I'll go below deck and put some more clothes on". Sylphiel and Filia agreed and followed. As they reached the stairs, they heard a groan coming from a dark corner. All of them let out a small scream when Eruk stumbled out of the darkness, looking almost as bad as he did when he first met Sylphiel. 

Both Sylphiel and Filia knelt down and started to cast a recovery spell on him. The combined power of their magic quickly healed his bruised body. "What happened to you?" Filia asked. "Nothing really" he smiled weakly "I just got in the way of one of Lina's meals". Taki shook her head "somebody should really tell that girl to be more careful". All of them looked at each other, as to say "Good idea. You do it, because I happen to like living". Taki laughed nervously "I guess we all feel the same way huh?". 

Filia stood up and started to leave together with Taki. Eruk's eyes was fixed on Filia's backside as she walked away. He managed to hold a chuckle back at her outfit. He had never seen a bikini with little dragons on it before. As funny as he found her outfit, something was still troubling him. _This is stupid_ he thought _I'm just imagining things, there is no way she can hide a tail in that outfit._ The last few times he had seen her chase Xellos around, he had felt certain that he had seen a tail, but now, he wasn't so sure anymore. And he had a feeling that lifting up her skirt from time to time to check, could turn out to be quite painful.

Sylphiel couldn't help notice the way he stared at Filia as she walked away. She took a step away " if you stare any harder your eyes might leave their sockets and follow her on their own", she hissed. Eruk snapped out of his thoughts "I… uhh wasn't staring like that, it's just that…" he trailed off, wondering how he could convince her that he was looking for a tail. "I'll be in my cabin, if you ever decide that I'm worthy of that much attention as those two", Sylphiel ran of to her cabin in the bottom of the ship. _I wonder what I did?_ Eruk asked himself.

Even though the journey was pleasant it started getting pretty boring. Eruk was bored looking at noting but water, even his companions wasn't fun to observe. It wasn't that warm anymore, so the girls had given up on sunbathing. Amelia didn't even sing or preach about justice and love anymore. In other words, almost all of them were starting to get depressed. Of course in the case of Zel, you couldn't feel certain of his emotional state, he always seemed depressed anyway. The only ones that were in positive spirit was Lina and Gourry. The captain had done his research well, and brought huge amounts of food onboard. Eruk sighted, that food was the reason he slept on the deck each night. His cabin was nothing more than a storeroom leading to the main hold, and for that reason Lina had claimed it her second cabin.

Authors notes:

Are Sylphiel acting to much ooc? I do that on purpose sometimes, just to show that she has gotten a bit older since the show. Hope you don't mind my take on her character. Don't worry, even though she has her fits of anger, she's still the old forgiving Sylphiel.


	21. Shipwrecked

Disclaimer: Even though this is a quite long story, I still don't own Slayers

Shipwrecked?

Almost made it to the outer world!

It was early evening, the captain had assured them that they would reach land early the next morning. The weather was getting worse. A strong wind had started blowing and the ship was rocking back and forth. Eruk stretched on his bedroll, the weather didn't bother him much. _I wonder how the others are doing_ he thought _I sure don't hope that they get seasick very easily._ He turned his head as somebody emerged from the inside of the ship. "Sylphiel how are you doing?" he asked, hoping that she had forgiven him for staring at Filia. "oh Ceiphied" she cried and ran to the side of the ship. Eruk noticed how her face turned into several interesting shades of green, before she reached her destination. He looked away while she made her sacrifice to Deep Sea Dolphin. 

She coughed weakly as she headed back to her cabin. "You okay?" Eruk asked. She shook her head "I feel terrible" she confessed, all of her anger towards him forgotten. He got up "here, let me help you back to your cabin" he offered. She gladly took his hand, and let him guide her down below. The further down they came, the better she started feeling. As she climbed into bed, he noticed a small trapdoor in the floor. _I wonder what's down there?_ He thought. Out of curiosity he opened the door. It lead down to the very bottom of the ship, and was probably used for maintenance. 

He climbed down the rope ladder that was attached. Down there he could barely feel the ship moving at all. _This is just what Sylphiel needs_ he thought happily as he climbed back up. 

Sylphiel was still feeling sick as he came back up from his little exploration. "Found something, Eruk dear?" she asked weakly. She wasn't even thinking of her own words. "As a matter of fact" he stated "you can go through here, and into the very bottom of the ship. Maybe if you don't get any better here, you should try going down there yourself. You can barely feel the ship moving when down there". He quietly left her alone.

Once back on the deck he settled in on his bedroll once again in hope of getting some sleep. It was getting dark now, and he settled in, and tried to go to sleep.

Normally the nights Eruk spent on the deck had been very peaceful. The sailors very all professional people, who knew their way around the ship. None of them the would ever fall and make the sound that woke Eruk up. He sat up. Something was very wrong. It was almost like he could fell an unknown presence. He heard some voices nearby, he felt certain that they didn't belong to the sailors either. 

Carefully he stalked closer. One of the voices belonged to a man, the other to a woman, but none of them seemed familiar to him. He moved a little closer, hoping that he would be able to understand what they were talking about. "You are a huge klutz Neela" the man sneered "that's the tenth time you trip over you own cape. Why can't you just dress normally?". Eruk moved behind a barrel a short distance away. Even though it was dark he could see the mysterious couple fairly well. The woman was sitting on the ground, rubbing her head. "Oh it was just an little accident Ascard, see I'm fine!" she jumped to her feet, only to step on her cape once again, and fall back and hit the deck with a loud *THUD*. 

"I don't care about you one bit" the man, Ascard, growled "In my opinion you are just another idiot in my way. And if you keep that up, I'll just have to get rid of you, with or without lord Loids approval". 

He reached down and pulled Neela up. "ouchie" she cried "you big meanie!". She rubbed her sore arm in an attempt to ease the pain. Eruk did a double take as something small left Neelas shoulder. "yeah, you big meanie" Nimph the fairy squealed "you just back off, or I'll take care of you!". Ascard took a step back and sweat dropped "Umm… sorry?". He sent Neela a concerned look before he turned his attention back to the angry fairy, who at the moment, were busy punching at his nose. "Take that, and that, and that!" Nimph kept up her vicious attacks without noticing that she wasn't really hurting her "enemy". Ascards eyes darted back and fort between Neela and her angry pet. He could already see how Neela was changing in personality. He had seen it several times now, apparently every time Neela lost physical contact with the fairy, she turned extremely aggressive. 

"I said I was sorry, alright?" Ascard desperately tried to save the situation AND his dignity "just go back to Neela, and …. and I'll buy you some more candy, ok?". Nimph immediately stopped her attack and looked at him with star filled eyes "really? Like really really?" she squealed in delight "OK then!" she happily flew back and settled in on Neelas shoulder armor. "Don't worry mistress, I took care of the bad man" she assured, while Neela turned into her normal whiny, cherry self. Ascard sighed, at least she wasn't going to blow something up with her magic now. 

Eruk swallowed deep, he was certain that those two had appeared just now. As far as he knew there were no other tourists but themselves on the ship. Ascard drew his sword "Let's just get rid of the failure, and leave already". Eruk started to back away. What happened next can best be described as universal law. Whenever you really need to do something right, it usually goes wrong. As Eruk tried to move away, he slipped in a piece of soap, some careless sailor had forgotten when he swapped the deck. 

As Eruk turned around, he found Ascard staring at him. "Well, isn't that nice" he gloated "but to tell the truth, I had hoped that you would be more of a challenge, even if you're just a lousy failure". Eruk barely managed to roll out of the way, as Ascard brought his sword down in a slash that most likely would have finished the battle before it even started. He stood back up "why are you calling me a failure?" he asked, while dodging another blow, "and why are you out to kill me?". 

Ascard smiled wickedly "so you don't remember me at all? I'm very disappointed". Eruk dodged another blow "You know who I am?". Ascard pressed forward "of course I do, the last time we met, I killed you". Eruk dashed out of the way, trying to understand the new piece of information he had received. Ascard slowly advanced on him "Surprised?" he smirked "Well, so am I. Usually my enemies stay dead". Eruk continued to back off. 

He heard a door open nearby. "Eruk? what are you doing?" Taki was stunned by the battle that took place in front of her. Eruk shot her a short look _great why now, and why her? If only I had remembered to give her those guns I bought. _"Taki, get out of here now" he shouted "Go get miss Lina and the others". She didn't move "but…but what about you?" she protested weakly. He ducked under Ascard sword, and ran for the doorway "Taki snap out it. I can hold on for a while. Just go get Lina!" He pushed her back inside the ship, and slammed the door shut. 

"So you think you can take both of us on all alone" Ascard smirked. Eruk rolled out of his reach "both of you? So far you are the only one to attack me". Ascard looked at Neela, who at the moment was busy preparing a tea party for herself and her small companion. Both Eruk and Ascard stopped death in their tracks. "Neela, What the hell do you think you are doing?" Ascard yelled. He quickly regretted his harsh tone as she slowly began advancing on him. She had turned evil once again "I thought I already told you, that I don't like that tone" she hissed. Eruk sweat dropped as the bluehaired girl started to toss fireballs after the menacing swordsman.

"Just what is going on here?" Lina asked as she and Gourry emerged on the deck. Eruk shook his head "I wish I knew. One minute these guys wants to kill me, and the next…" he gestured to Ascard, who was now running around in circles, screaming "I'm sorry!" back at Neela, who at the moment was chasing him and swinging her mace around like mad. 

Before anyone could react, a white lightning bolt shot past them and up into the crows nest. Even though Eruk was the newest person on the team, he had a pretty good idea of what to come. "Villains who threatens all that is good…" Amelia shouted, while posing dramatically on top of the mast, "Even though Mr. Eruk is the newest defender of justice, I Amelia Will Tesla Seyruun, will not allow you to hurt him…". Neela stopped chasing Ascard around and stared at the self proclaimed defender of justice in disbelief, "Ok, that idiot Ascard may be annoying, but you are even worse" she growled. 

Ascard used the confusion to run to the front of the ship. "Oh no you don't!" Lina shouted and followed him. There was no way she would let this chance to relieve her boredom slip between her fingers that easily. 

"Fireball!" a burning ball of flame shot from her hands and flew towards the armored man. Ascard turned around and smiled, as the spell bounced of his armor "You gotta do better that that, little boy" he laughed "but unfortunately I don't have time to play with you anymore". Moving at an incredible speed, he planted his sword in the deck "Damu brass!" the spell fired of and blow a hole all the way through the ship. "LITTLE BOY!!!!???" Lina furiously threw herself at the latest source of insult. Fast as Lina might be, Ascard was faster and phased out of existence before the furious sorceress supreme even got hand on him.

Eruk blocked another blow from Neela's mace. He had taken it upon himself to defend the mast Amelia was currently standing on. "…Therefore evil must be smashed by the hammer of justice and…" Amelia raved on, blissfully unaware of the effort Eruk made to ensure her safety. Without warning Neela stopped her attacks, and gazed at the small fairy in front of her "Get out of my way, you annoying pest" she growled. "But…but mistress…" Nimph sniffed and landed on Neelas shoulderpads "Ascard has already fled". 

The blue haired girls eyes lost their purple color and returned to normal blue. "Oh dear" she looked around nervously and found Lina, Gourry and even Eruk advancing on her. She swallowed hard "why can't we just be friends?" she asked hopefully. Lina smiled predatory as she advanced "SOMEBODY has to pay for that LITTLE BOY comment you partner made…". Neela slowly backed away from the angry sorceress "umm sorry?" she yelped and phased away, just like Ascard. 

Before any of them could react Zel burst through the door to the ships interior, closely followed by Taki and Filia "Hurry you guys, this ship is about to sink, get to the lifeboats, quickly!" he shouted. Lina went wide eyed "sinking? NO! Hurry Gourry, we have to save all that poor defenseless food from ending in a horrible watery grave!". Zel ran past her "there is no time for that, COME ON!" relying on his chimera strength he grabbed the now panicking sorceress by the waist, and dragged her with him into a lifeboat. Gourry quickly dived into the lifeboat with the rest of them, but Eruk hesitated. "Wait a minute" he looked around "Sylphiel isn't here yet". Zel and Gourry had already started to lower the boat into the water "just come on, she knows how to take care of herself!" Zel shouted.

"Maybe you don't care about others, but I do!" Eruk shouted back and slowly backed away, before he turned around and started running back towards the shrinemaides cabin. "At least save the food!" Lina cried, as the small boat was lowered into the water. On the way he picked up his backpack, it made no sense to just leave it there anyway. Even though Sylphiels cabin was in the very bottom, it was fortunately located in the rear end of the ship. He just hoped that it would be the last part filled with water. 

Sylphiel woke up with a shock as a powerful explosion shook the ship violently. The shrinemaiden blinked a few times, while she tried to remember where she was. This was not her cabin, that much was certain. As she looked around she started to remember, she had moved her bedroll down the small trapdoor, just as Eruk had suggested. "I wonder what happened?" she thought out loud "it sounded like an explosion, I hope nobody was hurt". She quickly strapped the bedroll on to her backpack, and climbed up the rope ladder leading to her room. When she tried to open the trapdoor, she found that it was much heavier than she remembered. "Oh my, am I trapped down here?" she kept calm, even though there seemingly was no way out. "I hope that it wont take too long before the others start looking for me" she sighed. 

She sat down and started eating some travel bread she had kept hidden in her backpack. Keeping food hidden was something she had learned pretty fast after she had been introduced to Lina Inverse. She was blissfully unaware of the water that at the very moment was rapidly filling the hull.

Eruk rushed towards Sylphiels cabin. The fact that he didn't meet her on the way made him worry even more. A lot of the things inside the ship had been tossed around, A few tables and chairs had even been thrown up against the walls, and lay splintered on the floor. He could feel how the ship was sinking, time was running out. He smashed through the door into the shrinemaidens cabin. "Sylphiel?" he shouted. looking around, he found no trace of her. _"She hasn't gone down there, has she?_ he thought as he looked at the heavy bookcase that had fallen on the trapdoor. He fell silent, had he just heard something? He looked around, hoping to pinpoint the sound. He heard it again, he was certain that someone was down below. Letting his ears guide him, he found the source of the knocking sound "Sylphiel, is that you down there?" he shouted. The knocking sound stopped "Eruk? Is that you?" Sylphiel cried from below "get me out of here, it's filled with water". 

He took a step back, and hit the floor with all his strength, letting his blades penetrate to the floor below. Water started to splash up through the holes he had made. He started to panic, if she didn't get out of there fast, she would drown. "Sylphiel, dive under the water, I'm going to blast my way through" He cried. He waited a few seconds before he charged his claws with a fire spell. Another explosion rocked the ship, as Eruk released his most devastating attack. The floor crumbled at the power of his magic. Salt water splashed up through the hole, and into his face. The was no trace of Sylphiel anywhere. Without thinking twice he dived down through the hole. 

It was dark down there, the only source of light was the hole. He took a deep breath before he dived under the surface, Sylphiel was somewhere down there, and he was determined to find her. He was unable to see anything, so he had to feel his way forward. He felt something at his right hand. It almost felt like hair. He was starting to panic as he grabbed hold of the floating mass and dragged it with him towards the light. He found the hole quite easily, but water had already filled most of the room above. 

He found his way to a small air pocket. He quickly took a breath of fresh air, before Sylphiel emerged beside him. "You didn't have to pull me by my hair, you know" she complained while she rubbed her sore head. "I got you out, didn't I?" he snarled "but it's to no use, we can't get out, we're going to drown!" His voice was filled with despair, indicating clearly that he was panicking. "Eruk dear, calm down, we're not going to drown" Sylphiel was desperately trying to talk some sense into her friend. Eruk was to far away in his own thoughts to even notice her voice. 

He dived down under the water in a hopeless attempt to swim out. Sylphiel chanted a spell before she dived after him. 

Relying on his memory to guide him out of the hull, Eruk swam as fast as he could. No matter how good a swimmer he thought he was, he found himself running out of air pretty fast. He desperately tried to locate the surface, or any other place that would allow him a breath of air. In his panicked state he didn't notice Sylphiel swimming towards him. 

Using all of her strength, she wrapped her arms around him, and held him tightly. For a second he stared in disbelief at her face. She was completely calm, unlike him.

Eruk looked around desperately as his lungs cried for oxygen. As far as he could see, there was nothing but water. His gaze returned to Sylphiel, who still held him tightly. For some reason the situation didn't seem to bother her at all. 

She could feel that he was running out of air. Unlike her, he didn't know any spells that allowed breathing under water. The aqua breath spell she had cast before made it possible for her to breathe, as if she was above water. She looked at Eruk's struggles. She had once heard of a way that allowed two people to share an aqua breath spell. As she edged closer to Eruks face, she started blushing. During her training she had heard the older shrinemaidens tell romantic stories about lovers that stayed under water for several hours like this. She had never even thought of doing that with anyone before, not even with Gourry dear. 

Before she could change her mind, she reached out for his face and pulled him closer. As their lips met Eruk could feel how clean air started flowing into his depleted lungs. After a while Sylphiel pulled away and looked down, embarrassed by her first "kiss". With Eruk leading the way, and Sylphiel supplying him with air, they made their way out of the sinking ship. From there the way to the surface was straight up.

Both of them closed their eyes to prevent any more sea water from hurting them. Slowly they began to swim towards the surface. It felt like they had been swimming forever, when a couple of strong arms grabbed hold of Sylphiel from behind. Her eyes snapped wide open, as she was pulled out of the water. "What? Who?" she panicky looked around to find out where she was. Her confusion vanished as she looked into Gourry's smiling eyes. "Are you ok?" he asked, as he handed her a blanket, "that water looks awful cold" Taki added. "It is!" Eruk shouted "It's fine that you took care of Sylphiel, but what about me?". 

Lina carelessly reached down for him, "Aww and here I was thinking that you were all fired up from that little stunt of yours", the tip of her fingers were dragging along the surface. "Lina come on now" he begged "a sorceress of your caliber should be able to recognize a spell like, well like whatever it was that allowed her to breathe under water!". Lina smiled as Eruk reached out for her "oh that little spell?" She pulled away from his hand "Sure, the aqua breath spell. I know how that works, but I have never heard of it being necessary to keep close contact, even after you reach the surface". A shiver ran through Eruks body. Taki was right, the water was really cold. "Lina, have you had your fun yet" Zel grumbled " he's going to get sick if you just leave him there". "Oh alright" Lina sighed and reached down for Eruk's hand. Without any effort she helped him climb into the lifeboat. Once out of the ocean he gratefully accepted the blanket Gourry handed him. "So does that out there mean that you two are a couple now?" Gourry asked while pointing out at the ocean. 

Eruk sighed, getting the blonde swordsman to understand what had happened could prove to be quite difficult. "No Gourry, we are not a couple. Not more so, than we were before". Gourry blinked a few times "so what you are telling me, is that you two have been a couple all along?" he concluded. "Yes Gourry" Eruk groaned, "we've been… a couple… all along". It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie either. Eruk had been with Sylphiel a very long time now, and he had though of the two of them as a team. Not to mention that she, in his mind, was the closest thing to a family he knew. 

He moved away from the curious swordsman, and moved to the back of the boat where Sylphiel was sitting. As he took place beside her, she leaned closer to him. "why did you say that?" she whispered, while blushing like mad. 

"Well, you know how persistent he can be when he set his mind to it" Eruk told her "With a little luck, he'll forget all that has been said in about 5 seconds" he added with a smile.

"I really don't care about any of this" Zel spoke up "but I must admit that I'm concerned about those two that attacked you". 

"oh yeah, the swordsman and the crazy sorceress" Lina added, "a combination like that could be really dangerous".

"yeah, Ceiphied knows that we have seen that proven more than once" Zel grumbled. "What was that Zel?" Lina slowly turned around while a fireball formed between her hands "why don't you speak up Zel, I couldn't hear you!" she hissed.

It took the combined power of all the people in the boat to hold the angry sorceress down, and thereby saving Zel, and the boat, from a fiery end. 

Authors notes:

Wow, I can't believe I actually wrote that underwater scene. So very much not my style… I guess there has to be a few sappy parts in a Sylphiel fic… 

Eruk has already been killed once? Just what is going on here? Those who have been along since the beginning knows that it's useless to ask, I wont tell anyway! Just keep reading ok?


	22. Welcome to the outer world

Disclaimer; Why even bother saying it? Oh right, I wont get sued if I do… I don't own slayers, ok?

Welcome to the outer world

Loosing my mind?

The night passed slowly with noting to do, except from listening to Lina. "I'm SOOOOO hungry!!!" the petite sorceress cried at the top of her lungs, "I haven't eaten a thing since dinner, I'm going to DIE!!!!!"

At the break of dawn, the boat started rocking violently, causing those that were a still sleeping to instantly wake up. "What's going on?" Sylphiel asked, as she yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "NO! Miss Lina, you can't eat poor Val for breakfast" A panicked Filia cried and dived behind Zelgadis. The sorceress were growling as a starved animal, when she realized that breakfast wouldn't be as easily obtained as she had anticipated at first. 

After several failed attempts at going past, and even above or below the moody chimera, Lina decided that it was time to change her tactics. "Oh Filia" she gently called out with the sweetest voice she could muster "look at this little thingy". With a graceful movement, she pulled out a beautifully decorated vase from the strange sub-space that seemingly existed inside her cape. Filia dived forward, seemingly forgetting all about being a protective mother "Oh it's beautiful!" she cried as she reached for the vase. 

Lina carefully backed away, while caressing her treasure "Well I don't know…." She suddenly tossed the vase high into the air "now Gourry, get that breakfast!". From there everything turned into chaos. Filia desperately tried to catch the vase before it fell into the sea. Amelia, Lina and Gourry all dived for the egg. The first claimed, in the name of justice, that she was going to protect the helpless egg. The two others were already fighting over who was going to eat it. Poor Zel was caught in the middle, and the last 3 looked like they wished that they could disappear like Xellos. The commotion went on for a few seconds, but they all froze as Taki pointed out in the distance "Isn't that land?" she shouted. As everybody stopped dead in their tracks, and looked in the direction she pointed, they could confirm that she indeed had spotted land.

"Come on everyone! Hurry!" a small group a children were running through the streets of the town Ofuon. Their happy cries made other children look strangely at them. "What's going on?" a girl peeked out of a window. One of the boys stopped in front of her "what? You haven't heard? There's a traveler in town!". The girl scratched her head "so, that's not some big deal is it?" the boy started walking towards the inn "are you kidding? This guy has actually seen the sorceress! And he's going to tell us all about it!". "Really?" the girl gasped, and jumped out of the window. Both of them ran as fast as they could.

During the last year tales had been told of a red haired sorceress, supposedly she was a friend of the dragons, and able to do some never seen before magic tricks.

All of the children gathered in front of an old man "come on gramps, tell us your story!" they pleaded. The old man chuckled "So you all want to hear the tale of Lina inverse, do you?". The children all nodded as he took a deep breath "Listen carefully then. My story starts about a year ago. The infamous Lina Inverse came to our town in her vessel of destruction", as he spoke, the old man gestured like mad to make his story even more dramatic. 

He took another deep breath, as he enjoyed the spectators awed looks "At her side was an invincible swordsman, a heartless demon and an angel of mercy. Without braking a sweat, they defeated an entire army of lizardmen!". As he spoke a strange group of people barged into room. "Hey pops, hurry up and bring some food, and just keep it coming" a short redhead called out.

"Hey Gourry don't you dare touch any of these" Lina threatened, while hogging a small bowl of snacks, that was originally meant for people drinking at the bar. "Miss Lina, you could let Gourry dear have some of those" Sylphiel tried to reason with the sorceress. Lina only gave an evil glance in return "No way! I'm not going to share any of those! I'm so hungry that I could eat an entire dragon". "MISS LINA!!" Filia cried in horror.

In another part of the room the old man stopped in the middle of his tale, and stared at the newcomers. "Come on gramps, what's the matter?" a boy named Guido asked. The old man pointed at the adventures "that…. That's HER!" All the children looked at the source of his distress. "Is that little girl a sorceress?" a girl asked, "I thought she'd be taller" another girl agreed. "I thought she'd have bigger breasts" snot-nosed Guido giggled. Barely had he spoken the words before the old man threw himself at the little brat "don't say that! Don't even think it! If she finds out, she'll not think twice about turning you into a newt, or make a chicken leg grow on your nose. But if you're lucky she'll just kill you quick and painless!"

As most of the children in the audience were petrified by their newly gained knowledge of the short statured sorceress's violent side, one little girl, no more than 5 years old, boldly stood up and started to make her way across the room.

"Gourry I told you to lay off" Lina threatened as the blonde mercenary once again tried to steal of few of snacks. A fireball started to form between her hands. "You know, miss Lina, if you throw that at him you'll most likely end up destroying the entire building, and then none of you gets to eat" Eruk pointed out. For once his reason was enough to calm her down. Finally a waiter emerged from the kitchen carrying a small part of the party's order on two huge trays.

"I've been dreaming about this…" Lina drooled as she prepared to dig in. "'scuse me?" somebody tucked her cape. Tearing her eyes from the feast set before her Lina looked at the small girl next to her. "is yoo'se really Lina Innerdse?" the kid looked at her with a mixture of fear and admiration. "Later kid (glomp, chew, snap) I'm eating" Lina waved her off. "I have hweard that Lina Innerdse is much taller than yoo'se are" the girl kept staring at the frenzy in front of her, blissfully unaware that her life had only been spared because you can't eat and throw fireballs at the same time. 

"Listen kid, you better go somewhere else, if you know what's good for ya" Zel warned the annoying little girl. She turned her attention to the chimera "Yoo'se are funny looking mister" she giggled "Yoo'se looks like a big, blue turtle". 

"that does it kid!" insulted by her comment about his looks, Zel slammed his mug angrily down on the table. A fireball was forming in his hand. "MR ZELGADIS!!" Amelia cried. Zel only smiled to himself "It worked…." he smirked, as the annoying little girl turned around and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her. 

"What's the matter?" Sylphiel asked, staring at Eruk. He was looking at his empty plate "if only I had had a chance of tasting my dinner before it was stolen…" he mumbled and silently witnessed the last remains of his dinner getting torn to shreds in the everlasting battle between Lina and Gourry. 

Later that evening, Eruk was lying on his bed, chewing on some traveling bread. His belongings were spread out on the floor. Most of his stuff were still wet from the salt water. A small bundle of rags caught his eye. _I wonder what that is_, he thought as he reached for it. He groaned as a gun fell from the clothes and hit the floor. _Why is it that I keep forgetting about these things?_ He thought to himself. He stood up and grabbed the guns. He headed for Taki's room. 

"Taki, you there?" he asked as he knocked the door. After a little while she opened the door. "Hi there" he smiled "mind if I come in for a little while". She nodded and stepped back, allowing him to enter. He noticed that she tried to avoid looking at him. He sat down on a chair, while Taki sat down on the bed. Eruk could almost feel that she was sad for some reason. It was like all of her feelings seeped into his mind. "Is something wrong" he asked in an attempt to break the silence. 

"No, not really" she answered in a weak voice. He took a deep breath and moved over beside her "you shouldn't lie" he pointed out. She looked at him, her eyes red from tears, "how did you know?" she asked weakly.

"you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you. But never mind that. Why so gloomy?" He tried to lead the attention away from the sensation that kept creeping into his body. Somewhere deep inside he enjoyed her sadness, a part of him even wanted to cause her even greater pain. _What the hell is happening to me?_ He wondered _this isn't who I am_. She stood up and walked to the window "Today I'm turning 17" she sighed.

"So? Why so sad about it? I don't even know how old I am, nor do I know my birthday" Eruk had to gather all of his willpower to remain normal. "It's just that I miss my family…." A single tear rolled down her cheek. Eruk stood up and walked slowly to her side "I understand" he tried to comfort her. Even in the pale moonlight he could see that see was trying to smile. He gave her a nod "now you look like the Taki I know". 

He left for the door "try to get some sleep, I'm sure things will look brighter in the morning". She took his advise, but still seemed hesitant to leave the window. He opened the door and took a step outside "oh the reason I came here was to give you a present, but I think it would be best to wait until morning" ignoring her surprise he closed the door and left. He had figured that giving her weapons now, with her current state of mind, would be a bad idea.

Back in his own room he sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. _What was that feeling?_ He almost trembled with fear when he thought about it. What ever it was that he was experiencing, it wasn't natural. And the worst thing about was that somewhere deep inside, he liked it.

Outside the inn a lone figure stared up at his window. His purple eyes shone through the darkness. "You are becoming aware of your power" Xellos smiled, "I wonder which path you'll choose in the end? Oh I just love secrets…."

Authors notes:

What "power" Is Xellos talking about? Anyone figured it out yet? If not, then I have done my work good enough. Big changes will happen in the next chapter. I wont say much, but someone are going to die! (gasp! Oh no!!) Who is it? And how? And of course, am I telling the entire truth? Only one way to find out, and you know it!


	23. Taki's training

Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Slayers this would already have been turned into an anime. Do you see an anime here? No? Damn….that must mean that I don't own Slayers.

Taki's training

Hour of fate

__

The sound of battle could be heard through the trees. Eruk whipped the sweat from his forehead, as he stared at his practice dummy. He smiled at it's resemblance to the trickster Xellos. He rolled forward and slashed viciously at his enemy. "That's not very nice to mister Xellos, you know" Sylphiel playfully scolded him. "Oh is that so?" he slowly turned at the sound of her voice. Ever since he found out that he was perfectly normal, and that Xellos was only playing with his mind, he had hated the smiling priest. The good thing about it was that he and Sylphiel had returned to the barrier lands. " Are you ready for our little picnic?" she giggled, as his eyes scanned her over "I thought we could go swimming first" she spun around "How do you like my new swim suit?". He was speechless. "Eruk dear" she slowly moved towards him. He didn't respond. "Eruk dear?" "Eruk?" 

"Hey Eruk, wake up call!". He slowly opened his eyes. "Oh so you are awake now" Taki happily cried, before she let go of his shoulders, and caused him to crash back into bed. "Now that you have finally woken up, how about that present you promised me last night?" she looked at him with starfilled eyes. "Taki, lay off will ya?" he mumbled sleepily. If there was one thing he hated, it was to be woken up early in the morning. 

Well one thing was getting up early, having an overly happy teenager bouncing all over you was something else entirely. "Taki, come on let me sleep some more" he slowly rolled over, looking away from her. She stopped prodding him, and started walking around. "If you want to go back to sleep that badly…." She thought out loud "that must mean that you were having a very nice dream. A dream about a certain shrinemaiden perhaps…". His eyes shot open. He could faintly remember the dream that he had been having, and he wasn't about to let Taki and her hyperactive imagination go on. "Fine, fine you win" he grumbled and sat up. With a blush she noticed that he was not overly dressed, in fact he was only wearing a pair of pajamas pants. "Umm I'll just wait for you outside, ok?" she stuttered, and backed out of the door.

She carefully closed the door behind her, and walked down the empty hallway, lost in her own thoughts. "well well Taki, good morning!" Xellos greeted her with his usual smiling face. No need to say that his sudden appearance made her jump several feet into the air. "Mr. Xellos!!!" she panted "don't scare me like that!". She continued on, closely followed by the priest. "So where are you going this early in the morning" he asked curiously. She stopped for a while "you know, I haven't really thought about it" she admitted "I just thought I would wait for Eruk outside, or something like that". Xellos raised an eyebrow, "you know" he whispered "you shouldn't go too far away from town. I have heard rumors of a terrible golden dragon that lives in this area". 

The two of the continued on, and while they walked Xellos kept telling scary stories about the evil dragon.

Taki was watching the sunrise, while trying to pay full attention to Xellos's hair raising stories about the dragons, when Eruk joined them. "Oh but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Xellos assured the frightened youth before he left them alone. 

"So what were you talking about?" Eruk asked, as he caught up to the waitress. "Oh nothing" she lied. "Now how about that present?" she asked eagerly. "You don't waste any time, do you? Eruk laughed "I just hope that you wont be disappointed". He handed her the bundle of rages he had wrapped around the guns for protection. She eagerly tore away at the bundle until she finally held the two guns. "Umm I'm grateful and all" she said, while looking funnily at the twin guns "but what are they?". Eruk took the guns "It's something that I bought a little while back. They are weapons, and according to the salesman, they are quite easy to use". He gave the guns back to Taki. She still looked at them like they were completely alien to her "You are giving these to me?" she asked one more time. He shrugged "they were never intended to be your birthday present. It's just that it seems that this journey could be dangerous, and I would feel a lot better if I knew you were able to defend yourself". She smiled at him "you are worrying about me? That's so sweet of you!" she hugged him tightly. 

With some effort Eruk managed to pry her off "let's just say that I fell somewhat responsible for your being here". He started walking towards a small forest located at the east side of the village "there's a little time until breakfast, so how about if I try to teach you how use those guns? He asked.

"Mr. Ascard, Mr. Ascard! Wait up!" Neela chased after the tall swordsman. He frowned at his unwanted partner, and continued into the cave. "You sure aren't a very good listener are you?" she scolded him, when she finally caught up to him. He continued walking without even turning his head in her direction "So sorry" he hissed through cleansed teeth. Having been forced to work with the schizophrenic girl, he quickly learned that neither of her 2 very different personalities were easy to work with. "Nimph are afraid of the dark" the bluehaired girl complained, while the fairy in question sat on her usual spot, nodding in agreement. 

Ascard took a deep breath before he faced the girl, "Listen carefully Neela, I can see in the dark. And according to lord Loid, so can you!". Her smile broadened, "Oh really?" She looked around "Hey, you're right! Nimph look, the big scary man's right! We can see!". She started dancing around until she fell over her own legs, for god knows what time. Ascard hid his face, and shook his head, getting her to understand could easily prove to be even more difficult than their ultimate goal, to eliminate a failure that went by the name Eruk.

"The plan goes like this…" He continued explaining, trying his best to ignore the fact that she seemed more interested in throwing rocks into a small puddle of water. 

__

"Okay, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought". Eruk sighed as he knelt down, beside the crying waitress. "Oh I'll never get the hang of this" she sniffed. "Don't say that" Eruk tried to calm her down "you've already learned so much". She clutched her shoulder, while a small stream of blood had started running down her arm "Like what?". Eruk started chanting a healing spell "well…" he started, thinking desperately of a diplomatic way of telling her that she was the most hopeless person he had ever met, what fighting concerned anyway. "Well, for starters you have learned how to load your guns pretty quick…" he started thinking back to all the times during that morning, that he had jumped behind a fallen tree because she kept dropping bullets and gunpowder into the small fire they had built. "and you have learned that even though I called the guns projectile type weapons, you are not supposed to throw them at your target. That's what bullets are for". He smiled as his healing spell started to mend the broken flesh in her shoulder "And now, I guess that you have learned that it probably isn't a very good idea to point them against yourself and pull the trigger" He shook his head "even though I honestly don't understand how exactly you managed to do so in the first place".

The two of them spent most of the morning in the woods together. Under Eruk's guidance Taki's abilities gradually improved. 

"How did I do?" she asked curiously, as Eruk went over to examine the target. "Wait a second, I'm not done looking…." He whistled in amazement "it would seem that you have hit the target with all of your shots this time, you even managed to get a bullseye". For a while she just stared at him in disbelief, then started doing a funny little dance "YAY! I hit the target! I hit the target! YAY!!!!!" 

Suddenly he stiffened "Taki, be quiet!" he ordered. "Lalala, I hit the target, lalala…." Lost in her own happiness, she totally ignored him. He strained his ears, was it just the wind he had heard before?. 

Not wanting to take any chances he pulled Taki close and put his hand over her mouth "Taki, I told you to be quiet!" he hissed. "Mmmpppfff?" She looked at him with questioning eyes. "Listen Taki, I heard something out there, just be quiet until I know what it is". In the silence that had fallen over the forest he heard the sound again. It sounded almost like a huge bird flying around somewhere nearby. "There, I heard it too" Taki whispered "what do you think it is?" Eruk quickly tossed some dirt over the remains of the fire "I honestly don't know, but it sounds like trouble". A thought popped into Taki's head "you don't think it's that evil dragon Mr. Xellos told me about, do you?" she asked. 

Eruk swallowed hard, while slowly moving towards her. Suddenly he dashed forward like mad. In a flash he wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her into some nearby bushes. "What the hell are you doing?????" she cried. As answer he grabbed hold of her face, and directed her eyes to the sky. A huge golden dragon were hovering a little distance away from the place they were hiding. With a mighty roar, the dragon dived towards the trees. Eruk could almost feel the vibrations from the dragons landing. "Is it still out there? Taki whispered. Eruk nodded "couldn't you feel it? It landed nearby." Both of them started to move away. "Mr. Eruk?! Miss Taki?! I know you are out here somewhere!" a familiar voice echoed through the forest. "That's Miss Filia" Taki gulped "didn't she see the dragon?". Eruk pushed her back a bit "be quiet" he ordered "I see her already. When she pass by here, I'm going to pull her to safety". 

"Mr. Eruk! Miss Tak….EEEEK!!" Filia cried as Eruk forcefully pulled her off the road. "What's the meaning of mphf?" Eruk quickly put his hand over Filia's mouth. "sorry about this miss Filia" he whispered "I had no choice. There's an evil dragon out there". Filia's first reaction was to blink at him in surprise, but gradually her surprised look turned into a glare. Eruk's mind however, was occupied elsewhere at the time. 

"Taki, do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate" he growled, as he felt someone repeatedly stroking his leg. "Mind what?" the brown haired girl asked in confusion "I'm not doing anything". Eruk swallowed hard, as he looked down at his leg. A golden, snakelike object was wrapped around his right leg. Slowly he let his gaze follow the strange object. Under normal circumstances he would have found it amusing to see that, despite it's likeness to a large reptilian tail, it was nicely adorned with a pretty pink ribbon near the tip. The thing that made him nervous was, that the other end of the tail vanished beneath Filia's long white dress. Slowly he removed his hand from her mouth. "What in the world are you doing?" the blonde cried, "and what was that about *evil*dragons?" she added with a low growl. 

Eruk and Taki exchanged looks. At the moment, there was no need for words between the two of them, as the same thought ran through both of their minds _"Xellos, we are so going to get you for this!"_

Sylphiel looked at the sky, as a large explosion rocked the small town "Oh my, thunder? I sure hope miss Filia are able to find those two before it starts to rain".

"What's the big idea?" Filia was holding a near unconscious Eruk by the collar, while shaking him violently. Taki could only watch in wide eyed fear. In the span of a few seconds she had witnessed one of her dear friends get burned, blown up, stomped on, and beaten to a pulp by a very angry golden dragon. "It was *cough* Xellos" Eruk whispered weakly "Xellos told about the evil dragon…. We didn't know that you…". With an angry cry, Filia tossed him away before she surrounded herself with a glowing golden halo. Taki watched in awe as the young dragon took flight. In a few seconds she lost visual contact with the dragon, but she could hear it's angry roar "Xellos! How dare you! Dragons are NOT evil!". 

Taki was brought back to the real world by Eruk's coughing. By using all of his strength, he had gotten back on his feet. "Taki, get away from here" he whispered. His eyes were darting back and forth. He could feel that something wasn't right. "What's wrong?" Taki asked carefully. Before she could react, he had already thrown her to the ground. In the same second he was blasted away by a concentrated energy beam. "You are slipping" Ascard smirked "At least you proved to be a bit of a challenge on the ship". Eruk struggled to get back up, but failed. Slowly Ascard stared to advance on him. He drew his sword, and prepared to strike. The swordsman brought his weapon down in a vicious slash. Just a split second before the blow connected, something made Ascard grimace in pain. Eruk cried out in pain as the sword pierced the right side of his chest. "You little bitch!" Ascard growled as he turned to Taki. 

She was standing a short distance away, still holding one of her guns. Smoke was still rising from one of them. "G… get away from him, you monster" she stuttered. She backed away as Ascard continued to advance on her. "You got lucky with that first shot kid" he smirked " but it wasn't good enough". He prepared to strike once again when he felt something painful in his left leg. He looked down. Eruk's wristblades were buried deep within his flesh. "You idiot" Ascard shouted, while he sent Eruk flying away with a powerful kick. 

"Can we go now? Please?" Neela peeked out from behind a tree. Ascard nodded slowly and humped towards her. "Remember, this is what will happen to you too, if you continue on your journey" Ascard shot Taki a threatening look before he vanished into thin air. The young girl slowly nodded her head. She was almost paralyzed with fear. Eruk's gasps for air brought her back to reality. 

She hurried to his side. "Eruk? Eruk are you ok?" she shuddered at his condition. Even though she had no medicinal training, it was obvious that his condition was critical, maybe even fatal. She took his arm and placed it over his chest "come on, you're a sorcerer right? heal yourself!".

He looked at her with clouded eyes "too weak…" he mumbled "can't focus…". Tears started rolling down Taki's face "NO! you can't die, not now!". Summoning all of his remaining strength, Eruk reached up and whipped a tear away from her face "I'm sorry" he was gasping for air as he spoke "Tell Sylphiel that I….". His voice trailed off and he stopped breathing. Taki watched his raised hand go limp, and fall to the ground. "No…" she whimpered as she felt all over his body for a pulse, without any luck. 

Authors notes:

Oh my god!! He killed Eruk!! …Or did he now? A lot of things is about to change around here in the following chapters.

Hey Kanti, welcome aboard! Always nice to hear from another who enjoys my little fic. Hope you'll like the remaining chapters as well.

And Otaku-girl, my loyal fan as always, I see. You are right! There isn't many Sylphiel fics out there. Too bad. As I see it, her character holds lot of potential. It's really a shame that most people just see her as Gourry's annoying fangirl. I just hope that my work can help change that.

Until the next chapter, keep reading, ok?


	24. Death and rebirth

Disclaimer: I really want to own Slayers, but I don't.

Death and rebirth

The beast inside

A light wind blew through the forest. It gently caressed the sobbing waitress. She was lying on the forest floor, with her head on her dead friends chest. "No, you can't die!" she kept repeating this over and over in a hopeless attempt to deny the fact. She didn't know however, that just below her head, a strange process had started. Her body stiffened when she felt something move below her. Carefully she sat up and looked at the body in front of her. "This can't be happening" she whispered. His right hand had begun twitching. In the beginning she was barely able to tell, but the twitching continued to grow in strength. She took a few steps away, as his body was lifted into the air "Wh… what's going on" she stuttered. Eruk's body was hovering above the ground, and was now covered in a strange red light. Taki pressed against a tree, unable to move from the spot. She could only watch as his wounds started healing at an amazing rate, strangely enough it even fixed those parts of his clothes that had been destroyed by Filia and Ascard.

Gradually the light faded. Taki stared at the man in front of her. He was Eruk, but not the one she knew. His face was twisted in anger and pain. Slowly he raised his head. She felt like his red eyes was staring right through her. Had she had the time, she would probably have wondered why the color of his eyes had changed, but the situation left her with no such luxury. With a roar Eruk charged forward, his wristblades ready to make the kill. 

It was only through luck that Taki dodged his attack. His left claw had sunk deep into the tree she stood against. Moving at her top speed, Taki scrambled away from the enraged monster in front of her. She watched as the creature tried of free his hand. his red eyes kept following her every move very carefully. Taki covered her ears as he let out a loud scream of rage, when he found that he couldn't pull his hand free. With another scream he spun around, cutting the tree down with a powerful backhand slash. Taki went pale, through the sound of the falling tree, came the sound of Eruk's bones breaking. He looked down at his left arm, that hung lifeless down at his side, but he didn't even seem to care. 

He smiled as he picked the waitress up from the ground "Human…." He hissed. Though his body was the same as before, it was easy to hear that his voice was very different. He pulled her closer, his face only inches away from hers. He started smiling "die…". He tossed her away. She hit the ground hard. She turned her head and stared at her attacker. He stood still savoring her fear and pain. He let loose another howl and his broken arm started shaking violently. Slowly his arm started glowing, and when the light faded, it was completely healed. 

Taki tried to edge away when her hand stumbled across something on the ground. Carefully she picked up the guns that she had dropped on the ground. She turned to face him "don't come closer! I wont hesitate to shoot!" she warned. Not even paying attention to her warning, he charged forward, pushing her up against another tree. She screamed and closed her eyes. Two small explosions were heard. 

Eruk stopped his attack and looked down, two streams of blood had started flowing down his shirt. He let go of her and stumbled a few steps backward, away from the smoking guns. "T… Taki?" he whispered. She took a step forward, but he stumbled away "go… " he whispered, before he crouched down. "What happened to you Eruk?" she asked as she took a step forward. "Taki… run… get others…." He whispered "losing control… go away". Even though her morals was against it, she turned and ran away. Behind her, she could hear him screaming, as he once again lost control of his body.

"What do you mean *Kinda hurt him?*" Sylphiel asked the blonde priestess. Filia nervously stirred her tea "Well… he attacked me, and he talked about Xellos… and evil dragons… and I just lost my temper". Amelia came up to the two shrinemaidens "come on now, miss Sylphiel. I'm sure that Mr. Eruk is able to handle something like that, he is pretty tough after all". Suddenly the door to the restaurant flew open, and Taki ran in, looking scared out of her mind. "Someone help me!" she cried "it's Eruk… he's…". Amelia rushed to her side "What is wrong, you look like you have seen a ghost?". She collapsed on the floor "It's Eruk…". Sylphiels eyes went wide "what has happened? Is there something wrong with him?" fear filled her. Taki sobbed uncontrolled "He died…". All of them stopped what they where doing. "Come again?" Lina cried "waddaya mean * died*?". Taki was still sobbing "I don't know!! One minute he was dead, the next he tried to kill me!" 

"So that's what happened?" Lina asked in disbelief after Taki finished her story. She shot a glance at Sylphiel who looked miserable. "You ok over there?" She asked carefully. The shrinemaiden nodded " I… I'll be ok. If only I had…." her voice trailed off. "Sylphiel stop that" Zelgadis got up from his chair, "there was noting that could be done. He probably didn't know himself". Sylphiel was on the verge of tears "But he did!". All of them looked at her in surprise "he what?" they asked in unison. "He told me, that he was afraid of himself. He didn't remember, but he did suspect that something like this could happen". 

Lina was practically assaulting her "you knew, and didn't bother to tell?" 

"But but miss L.. Lina…" Sylphiel tried to speak while Lina shook her violently. Without warning Zel grabbed her from behind "Lina, that's enough! It's obvious that Sylphiel had her reasons for not telling. But now we need to figure out what we can do about it".

Ascard stopped dead in his tracks "He's out there…" he whispered "And he has lost control". Neela looked at him "who's close? And how has he lost control? Can I have some candy now? And some for Nimph too!" 

Ascard desperately tried to remain calm. "I don't know what that crazy old wizard were smoking when they created you, but I sure hope they had fun". Neela started doing another funny dance "Fun, fun fun!!!" she sang.

Ascard groaned. He was a hunter. To him life only consisted of the hunt and the killing. He tensed as a man crashed through the bushes a short distance away. With a smile he drew his sword "This is getting old" he smirked "I've killed you two times already! What makes you think a third time would matter much to me?". With a cry, Eruk charged forward. Under normal circumstances, he would have looked for the best escape route, instead of fighting. But now the only thing on his mind was to cause pain and death. 

The sound of metal against metal resounded through the forest. Some distance away, the sound reached Zelgadis' sensitive ears. "Lina" he whispered, reached out and brought the sorceress to a hold. "There is something up ahead" he told her plainly "judging from the sound, I'll say there is some sort of trouble". Lina blinked in wonder "you sure Zel? I don't hear anything".

"I'm sure" he nodded "there is somebody fighting up ahead". 

A smile grew on her face "finally we get some action, this journey has been way to boring." Without warning Lina charged forward, dragging Gourry along with her. Zelgadis sighed, why wasn't he surprised? "Filia, you stay here and take care of Sylphiel and Taki. Amelia come with me" he ordered before he chased after the others. "But I can fight too…" Sylphiel whispered, and started following the chimera and the princess. She had only taken a few steps before she was pushed over. Taki was desperately clinging to her waist "Please stay here" she begged the older girl. Sylphiel was struggling to break free " I can't… I have to go…". The shrinemaidens struggling only made Taki hold her even tighter "Miss Sylphiel please!" she cried "I know how much you like him, but you don't wanna see him like this. "

The sound of battle became louder and louder as Lina approached the source. Readying a fireball, she crashed through a thick shrubbery. She stopped dead in her tracks, confused by the scenery in front of her. Ascard were desperately trying to hold of an enraged Eruk. "Umm Lina?" Gourry asked as he emerged behind her "what's going on here?". Lina kept on staring at the battle for a few seconds, before she could answer "Honestly? I'm not sure" she admitted. "Isn't it obvious? Mr. Eruk is being attacked by the forces of evil!" Amelia declared loudly, and let her gaze wander of in search of high places, from where she could perform one of her (in)famous speeches. 

Eruk made a wild attack that shattered Ascards breastplate. The blackclad warrior backed away "This is impossible! How can you be that strong?" His question was never answered, instead Eruk charged forward to deliver the finishing blow. Just as he was about to strike, a powerful explosion blew him away. Ascard turned his attention to his bluehaired aide. Even though she was hiding behind a large tree, it was pretty obvious that she was the one responsible for saving his life. "oh mistress" Nimph squealed "I think you hurt him!" Neela looked at the fairy with wide eyes "You think so?". Nimph nodded "I think so, but I'd better go check on him. 

As she left her usual spot on Neelas shoulder pads, Ascard noticed the four people that had entered the clearing. Summoning the last of his strength, he got on his feet, and started running towards Neelas hiding place. Even though he was an extremely skilled fighter and a descent sorcerer, he knew when he was beaten. "Neela! We are leaving!" he shouted. "But Nimph…." She protested. If he had had the time to think about her words, as he forced her with him into the astral plane, he would most likely feel relieved to leave the annoying fairy behind. But given the situation, time was a luxury he couldn't allow himself to have.

"What? He ran away?" Lina was furious "I wanted to get back at him SOOO bad!". Zelgadis stepped up beside her "Lina, stay focused! He may be gone, but our troubles are far from over. Look." He pointed towards the pillar of smoke that rose from the crater Neelas fireball had made. "I don't see anything Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia wondered. "Take another look" the chimera hissed, as he reached for his sword. Through the smoke they could see two red lights slowly advancing on them. "Miss Lina?" Amelia whispered "What is that?". She got her answer a few seconds later, as Eruk emerged from the smoke, his eyes was still glowing. 

"Oh there you are!" Gourry exclaimed, as he started walking towards him "You know, Sylphiel was worried about you. And uhh that other girl said you died". He slapped Eruk on the back "but here you are, all well and safe". Eruk stared at the blonde swordsman in disbelief, but then proceeded to smile evilly. "Gourry! Quick, get away…." Zel's warning was cut of by a powerful explosion that sent Gourry flying back. "Wha..? how did he do that?" He coughed, as he struggled to get back on his feet. 

Zelgadis drew his sword "it would seem that Taki was right, something has happened to him." Amelia took a step back "He looks scary". Zel ignored her "I just wish I knew what was wrong with him, but it's pretty obvious that he has become our enemy". Eruk let loose another inhuman scream, and charged forward at incredible speed. He was heading straight for Lina. Just before his wristblades could connect with her soft body, he was blocked by Gourry's sword. "Lina! Use your magic" The swordsman shouted, while he struggled to keep Eruk away from her. "You don't have to tell me that" the petite sorceress shouted "FIREBALL!!". The spell made a direct impact on Eruks body, blasting him away. "Sorry, I had to do that" she said, while straightening her outfit. 

"Lina, stay alert" Zel warned "there is something very wrong with him, like he's possessed or something". Eruk attacked Gourry again. "So you have any good ideas, Mr. Genius?" Lina shouted. Zelgadis nodded " I might have, just keep him occupied for a while". Gourry skillfully blocked another of Eruks attacks "Keep him occupied? That's easy for you to say!" he complained "I never knew that Eruk was this strong". Lina drew her dagger and ran forward to help Gourry "I don't know what you are planing Zel, but you'd better hurry".

"Do you really know what's wrong with him?" Taki carefully asked. Sylphiel hadn't spoken a word since the others left, and it was beginning to bother the younger girl. "I…. I really don't know for sure…." The shrinemaiden whispered, so low that the others could barely hear it. "If you know anything, please tell us. Maybe we can find a way to help him?" Filia urged. "Well.." Sylphiel hesitated "Some time ago he started talking about him being a mazuko, but…". Taki gasped "A mazuko? You mean like that Xellos guy?" her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered to the blond dragon girl. But instead of the fit of anger that she usually threw when the talk fell on her lifelong enemies, she too was deep in thought "So that explains it…" she wondered out loud. The two others looked at her in amazement. "What do you mean miss Filia?" Taki asked. "What I mean is…" Filia started explaining about the first time she met Eruk. "But since I haven't felt a thing from him." She concluded. "So what you are saying, is that even though he may not be all human….?". Filia nodded "As far as I can tell, he definitely has a human side too. We simply just need to find it!". Sylphiel stood up "We'd better get going, before miss Lina decides to hurt him!".

"Say Lina, where did Zel and Amelia go?" Gourry asked, while dodging a blast of pure energy. "Don't know! But stoneboy said he had a plan, that's what we're waiting for. Fireball!". Once again Eruk took a direct hit by one of Linas famous fireballs. "How does he do that?!" Lina cried, as Eruk got back on his feet. "It would seem, that he possesses quite a few of our races special abilities". Lina spun around "Xellos! Where'd you come from, and what do you mean by *our race*?". Xellos scratchedthe back of his head"you mean you don't know? Well it's quite simple really…" Lina eyed him suspiciously "Well….?". Xellos smiled "but of course, it's a secret!" He teleported a short distance away, and pointed at a large tree "Oh, and I believe that Zelgadis wanted you to press him up against that tree over there. Bye!" and in an instant, he was gone. "Typically useless" Lina muttered, "Gourry, drive him towards that tree over there!". 

Gourry faked a strike, and planted a punch in Eruk's chest, causing him to stumble backwards. Before he could recover, Amelia jumped from the tree and Zelgadis jumped out from behind the trunk "Ra Tilt!" both of them shouted.

Sylphiel came into the clearing just as the two spells engulfed her friend in a blue blaze. When the dazzling energies faded, Eruk was lying on the ground. "Zel? Amelia? What the hell did you guys do to him?" Lina shouted " That spell don't work on humans!". Zel pushed past the redhead and made his way to the man on the ground. "Like I said, he seemed to be possessed. This was the only way I could avoid hurting him, if I was wrong that is". He knelt down "Hey Sylphiel, get over here, NOW!". Sylphiel snapped out of the shock-like state that she had been standing in "Huh? What?". Zel took a few steps away "He's alive, and we need you to heal him." Sylphiel quickly hurried to her friend, and started chanting a resurrection spell. "Are you sure this is a good idea Zel?" Lina asked " I mean, the guy tried to kill us for crying out loud!". Zelgadis nodded "I'm quite sure. In cases like this, the strongest part of his spirit, is the one in control. And I would say that whatever it was possessing him, it has been greatly weakened and therefore he should be able to regain control". 

Amelia looked at him in admiration "wow, you sure knows a lot about this". Zelgadis lowered his head "Yeah, I do…" he whispered bitterly. They were interrupted by a weak cough. Eruk slowly opened his eyes "where am I?" he whispered. Sylphiel wrapped her arms around him "Thank god you are ok" she sobbed. He turned to look her in the eyes "S…Sylphiel? What happened to me?" he whispered. Lina and the others relaxed, seeing that he was back to normal. He let himself relax "I feel so weak…". Sylphiel was still holding him when she felt someone tapping her shoulder. "Shouldn't you let go of loverboy here, so we can get him to an inn or something?" Lina asked casually. Sylphiel blushed deeply, but allowed Gourry and Zelgadis to pick him up. "Amelia, you go get the others" Lina ordered. 

As the group slowly made their way back to the inn, none of them noticed the tiny shadow that followed them.

Authors notes:

Wow. That was pretty intense, wasn't it? I guess I have made it pretty obvious by now, that Eruk isn't all human? For the moment it would seem that he's back to normal, but how long is it going to last? And finally, who's following them?


	25. A time to recover

Disclaimer: this is getting very old isn't it? Still don't own slayers.

A time to recover 

A time to remember

"How's he doing miss Sylphiel?" Amelia asked. The two of them had agreed on watching over Eruk together. Sylphiel shook her head "No change, I'm afraid. He wakes up sometimes, but falls asleep again pretty fast". Amelia sighed and sat down on a chair next to Sylphiel "I'm not complaining or anything, but why can't miss Filia help looking out for him too?" Amelia asked after a little while. "Well, she could be of great help to us" Sylphiel admitted "But she is a golden dragon, and it would seem Eruk was right when he suspected that he had some connection to the monster race. I don't think it would wise to bring those two together, at least until he regains complete control". 

Time passed slowly. The two girls didn't talk much. Instead they just watched the sleeping man, and listened to the rain hammering against the window. Little by little the boredom made both of them drift of to sleep. 

When Eruk opened his eyes once again, the first thing he saw was the two girls sitting in their chairs sleeping. He shook his head a couple of times. He felt like he had been sleeping for a long time. "I'm alive?" he whispered "How?". He slowly sat up "the last thing I remember is dying? How can this be?". For some reason his head felt much clearer than ever before. He sat up and tried to think. Images from his past started flowing back into his head. As more time passed, Eruk became more and more frustrated. No matter how much he tried, he was only able to remember fragments of his past. And to put it mildly, he didn't like what he discovered. "Gaav" he muttered "you are not willing to die that easily? Is that it?".

His thoughts were interrupted up a strange noise from the window. It was difficult to tell because of the rain, but someone was definitely knocking on the glass. Driven by his curiosity, he got out of bed and walked towards the window. Gazing outside, he could see nothing but black thunderclouds and the rain hammering against the window. He shrugged and turned away. As he started walking back to his sleeping friends, he heard the sound again. Reacting fast, he spun around and opened the window as fast as he could. He leaned outside. Just as he thought nobody was there. He sighed, and turned to leave, when he heard a faint voice "ouch, that hurt". 

A small fairy flew into the room and landed on the floor. It cuddled it's face, making Eruk realize that he must have hit it, when he opened the window. He knelt down and took a closer look at the tiny creature. She had long blue slightly curly hair with red highlights. Like he would have expected of a fairy, she had wings on her back. They were almost insect like, but they had the same faint blue glow as her hair. He figured that she was around ½ foot tall. She wore a black tank-top and red shorts. "Hey, I have seen you before" realization hit him, as he got at closer look at it's face "you're with the ones trying to kill me!". Nimph shook her head "We're not trying anything!". She stood up and stamped her foot "Mistress Neela says that you are a bad man, and that you want to stand in our way!". Eruk shook his head. Yes, he stood in their way, but only because they had chosen it themselves. While Eruk tried to figure out what to do with the fairy, Nimph was busy examining the two sleeping girls. "So who are these two? More bad persons". She grabbed hold of a lock of Sylphiels hair and pulled it as hard as she could. Quickly Eruk snatched the tiny creature away. Fortunately Sylphiel didn't wake up, but merely changed her position on the chair. "Listen closely creature" Eruk whispered "I don't know what you are, but I want some answers!".

Before Nimph could answer, Amelia started yawning loudly. Slowly she opened her eyes. Even though her eyes wasn't adapted to the dark, she could easily see Eruk crouching by the window. "Mr. Eruk, are you ok?" she whispered. Even though she felt positive that he was back to normal, she secretly prepared an elmekia lance. His silence made her move a bit closer "Mr. Eruk". She jumped back with a small scream when he stood up. He turned his head and smiled back to the startled girl "Don't worry, I'm myself again" he assured her. Amelia nodded and walked close enough to notice that the was hiding something in his hands. "What do you have there?" she asked. 

He slowly opened his hands to reveal an unconscious Nimph. "I really don't understand she was so hyper only a minute ago, and then she just passed out" he whispered. "A fairy!!!" Amelia whined "She looks just so cute!! But she looks kinda familiar, doesn't she?". He nodded "She used to be with that crazy girl, Neela is her name, I think. But for some reason she has sought me out on her own". After talking a bit, Amelia suddenly remembered something "Shouldn't we wake miss Sylphiel? She has been so worried about you." 

His expression turned dark "Let her rest, I'll talk to her later". For once Amelia understood that he was in no mood to argue. Eruk shook his head and pushed past Amelia. He forcefully pushed the door open and left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Amelia behind. He kept to the shadows, and thus avoided being seen as he made his way outside.

The rain felt strange against his skin as he ran through the small village. So many things were running through his mind, that he didn't even noticed that his clothes were beginning to get soaked. He headed for the forest, as he always did when he needed to think. Once he reached his destination, he slumped to the ground under a large oak that offered a bit shelter from the rain. He carefully pulled his cape aside to reveal the unconscious Nimph. He had kept her sheltered, even if he still considered her an enemy. Carefully he poked her chin, hoping that she would wake up. 

"Are you giving up on us so soon?" A familiar voice made him snap out of his thoughts. Slowly he raised his head and stared out into the rain "Xellos" he growled. The priest had appeared without a sound, just like always. "You always knew, didn't you? What I am, what I was?". Xellos just stood there, smiling as usual. Demonic powers was emanating from him, shielding him from the weather and stood as an aura around him. "And what if I knew?" he asked cheerfully "Would it have made any difference to you?". Eruk started to breathe heavily, as a rage started clouding his mind. Xellos, of course, noticed this "My my getting so worked up over details. You know it would be much easier to just to make up your mind. Will you join us or oppose us?". 

While Xellos was talking, Eruk fought to remain whatever control he had. But just as he felt his control slipping, a strange calming force overwhelmed him. It would seem that Xellos too, could feel it, because he started to look more and more sick. "you!" he gasped "how did you…?" Even though he was one of the most powerful Mazukos, even Xellos could not fight the images of pink flowers and cute little birds that started flowing through his mind. 

"Too much… can't take it" he groaned, overcome with positive emotions, Xellos chose the only option available to him, and teleported away. Eruk on the other hand, having no such powers at his disposal, was forced to live through all kinds of sickeningly sweet thoughts being forced into his mind. 

Gradually the felling stopped. Eruk, now fully in control of himself, sat down heavily. _That was awful_ he thought _not even Amelia would be able to handle that._ His attention shifted, as Nimph started moving in his hand. "Oh it was you" she said, while rubbing her eyes "I knew you were the same as the mistress". Eruk stared at the small creature as she proceeded to straightening her outfit, and her wings. "What do you mean *the same as the mistress*?" he asked. The fairy stopped what she was doing and stared at him with her big round eyes "why, you are a chimera, silly" she laughed "you know, half human, half Mazuko?". Eruk just nodded. Even though nobody had told him before, he found no difficulties in believing her words. It all matched with his returning memory "A chimera, huh?" he repeated. 

The fairy started flapping her wings and flew up to his face "ummm can I ask you something Mr. bad guy sir?" she asked. He didn't respond, but raised an eyebrow to show that he was listening. "Can I….. stay with you for a while?" she asked, while giving him the puppy eyes treatment. Even though he felt like just leaving the annoying little creature behind, he felt pretty sure that she was the source of all the sickeningly sweet thoughts from before. And there was no avoiding that he did feel incredibly calm with her around. "Ok" he agreed "you can stay, at least for now".

Authors notes:

More have been revealed. Eruk is a chimera? And what was that about Gaav? Sigh, looks like every answer I give end up creating more questions…

Looks like Eruk got himself a new friend. Nimph can be annoying at times, but it looks like she can come in handy.

Again reviews are greatly appreciated . And on that note, Otaku-girl, I'm a guy, not a girl as you assumed in your latest review.

Read on, people! Read on!


	26. Girltalk

Disclaimer: Three words: Slayers. Not. Mine.

Girltalk

Realization

"What do you mean?" Lina shouted, waking up several of the inns other guests. Amelia had just finished explaining why Eruk wasn't in his bed. "He left again? Just how irresponsible can that guy get!" It was obvious that Lina wasn't to pleased with Eruks actions. "He's the entire reason we're out here in the first place!" While Lina was complaining, Taki tried to calm Sylphiel down. She had been worrying about him ever since he disappeared the first time. Lina looked out on her friends "I say we go on to Xen" she suggested "If Eruk really wants to go there, I'm sure we'll meet up on the way". 

"But miss Lina…" Sylphiel complained "we can't just leave him here. He might be hurt or something even worse". Before Lina could answer, the door was pushed open. "Eruk, you're back!" Taki cheered. "Sorry to make you worry" he said, while making his way to the table. He sat down in the seat across from Lina. Sylphiel kept staring at him. She could feel that he was different from before. It almost seemed like all his doubt had vanished. Somewhere deep inside she was waiting for him to say something to her. After everything he had been through, he could at least assure her that he was fine. But despite her wishes, he never looked to her side. 

Having finished their breakfast, they all went to their rooms to gather their belongings. Eruk looked around his room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. "Are we going somewhere?" a muffled voice came from inside his cape. He smiled, and opened a large pocket, allowing Nimph access to free air. "you are sooo mean" she complained "Keeping me inside that stinking pocket of yours". She flew up in front of his face "See these wings? They were made for flying, not riding in a pocket". 

She continued to fly around and complain before a thought occurred to her "Hey why don't you ever change?" Eruk looked at her in surprise "Change?". Nimph landed on his shoulder "sometimes the mistress changes and becomes so very scary". Eruk nodded "I've seen that happen. How about this for an explanation: without you to counter her extreme negative energy, her mazuko side runs wild". Nimph seemed to think on this information "It sounds possible" she agreed "but how do you know so much about this?". Eruk shrugged "I can't say I know much about all of this, but you do seem to have a calming effect on their… my kind of chimeras. I would have used you to keep control over an otherwise crazy girl". 

The two of them continued to talk for a short while until a knock on the door interrupted them. Quickly he snatched Nimph from midair, and stuffed her back into the pocket. "who is it" he demanded, sounding more gruff than he had intended. Sylphiel carefully opened the door "Eruk? Is there something wrong? Are you hurt?". He turned away, not wanting to look her in the eyes "I'm fine Sylphiel, no need to worry about me". He felt a movement from inside his pocket, "Sylphiel, I'm sorry but I have no time to talk right now". He picked up his pack and walked past her. 

She looked after him as he left. From what Amelia had told, he hadn't wanted to wake her up during the night when he regained consciousness. During breakfast he hadn't even looked at her, and now this. It was obvious that he tried to avoid her. 

She walked over and sat down on the bed. For a while she just sat there, looking out the window. Had she done something wrong to deserve that kind of treatment? Her thoughts were interrupted as Taki ran into the room "Hey Eruk, you there?" she shouted. She stopped dead in her tracks "Miss Sylphiel? why are you here?". Sylphiel lowered her head "I came to talk to him, but he didn't have the time". Taki sat down next to her "He didn't have time for you? Somehow I find that hard to believe!". Sylphiel raised her head and looked at the younger girl "what do you mean?" she asked, blushing slightly. 

Taki sighed and went over to close the door. "Miss Sylphiel" she started "I'm going to speak my mind, ok?". The shrinemaiden blinked a few times in wonder. Taki took a deep breath and crouched down in front of her "miss Sylphiel, I want you to know that I respect you very much but…. " she held a short break, looking unsure if she should go on. "But miss Sylphiel, you really are stupid!" the words just blurted out of her mouth. She immediately regretted, as a tear ran down the older girl's cheek. 

Taki sat down next to her and put and arm around her "look, I didn't mean it like that". She carefully brushed the tear away from Sylphiels face before she continued "It's just that it's so obvious that you are totally nuts for that guy!". Sylphiel stopped sobbing, and started blushing "It's not like that…" she started, but was cut of by Taki "Oh don't give me that! You love him, end of story". Sylphiel turned away from her friend "Has it… really been that obvious?" she asked in a low tone. Taki nodded "at least to me it is. But to be honest I don't know if any of the others has noticed just how bad it is". 

Sylphiel let out a small sigh of relief. She remembered all to well how the others had reacted a few years earlier. Nobody had ever made fun of her crush on Gourry, but she had always felt that none of the others really understood her. While Taki was talking she let her mind wander of. Since the first time she saw Gourry, he had been her knight in shining armor. He still was, but things had changed. He was with Lina now, and in their own strange way, they were happy. Despite that she would still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and think of him. But lately that had changed too. Quite often when she thought of Gourry, the image inside her mind would change. His body would shrink a bit, his golden hair grow shorter and the color lighter, until it was almost white. It was just like Taki had said. Maybe this was what true love really was about? Not just worshipping somebody for who they were. 

"Miss Sylphiel? Are you alright?" Taki gently poked her side "You just stared out into space" a small smile grew on her face "and you started saying some weird things all of a sudden. Sylphiel started getting worried that she had just spoken some of her thoughts out loud "Ummm weird things?" she asked innocently. "uh-huh" Taki nodded "All of a sudden you started about getting him drunk and…."

"I did nothing of that sort!!!" Sylphiel cried while blushing ferociously. Taki fell down on her back, laughing "you really fell for it? All you did was sitting there in your own little world" she assured the blushing girl "but now I can't help wonder what you were really thinking of…" she added with a smile. 

Before Sylphiel had the time to answer, Amelia peeked into the room "Hey, we are getting ready to leave now" she said "You'd better come down before miss Lina leaves without you". 

"Listen, what I have tried to tell you, is that I'm sure he feels the same way about you" Taki whispered before she chased after Amelia. Sylphiel looked after her as she vanished down the hallway. "Eruk… loves me too?" she whispered.

"So, how is she?" Lina asked. She had done her best to hide it, but she was concerned about her friend. Taki shook her head "I really don't know miss Lina" she answered truthfully "But it's obvious the last few days has been really hard on her". Lina rolled her hand into a fist "What the hell is wrong with that guy anyway? It's like he has more secrets than even Xellos!". 

"Miss Lina, could you please avoid mentioning that name in front of me?" Filia protested, but no one seemed to pay any attention to her. "I mean what has happened to him in the last few days?" Lina continued on "In the beginning he seemed like a nice guy, but now he has turned into an insensitive jerk!". 

"Yeah, it's like he is turning into a whole new person" Amelia agreed. "The Eruk I know would never have done anything to hurt poor miss Sylphiel" Filia added. While the three girls were talking, Zel and Gourry sat by another table minding their own business. "Say Zel, what do you think the girls are talking about?" Gourry asked. He had been curious about it for sometime, but knew better than annoy Lina even further. "Even though I can't hear them very well, I'm quite sure that they are talking about Eruk" Zel said, while sipping a cup of tea. "Oh yeah that guy!" Gourry exclaimed in a sudden moment of intelligence "Could you tell me what's going on Zel?". 

Even though Gourry was not the brightest guy, he had learned that whenever Lina was in a bad mood, asking somebody else was actually a lot less painful. Zel put his cup down "Gourry, to be honest I don't know" he admitted "But I think it would be best for us to stay out of it. This is a problem between Sylphiel and Eruk. I say we let them take care of their own problems". Gourry stared at him "Shouldn't we help them?". Zel sighed "Maybe if he losses it again, but apart from that, there is nothing we can do". Even Gourry understood that something was really bothering all of them, and stopped asking any more questions.

Authors note:

Another short chapter this time. Not much I can do about it.

In the next chapter Eruk makes a decision that changes a whole lot of things. He leaves the group. Will him and Nimph go on alone for the rest of this fic? Or are they teaming up with someone else? You'll just have to wait and see. Because of the Christmas, I'm not sure if I'll have the time to update next week, but don't worry this fic will go on once thing settle down a bit.

****

Special Announcement!!

Good news to all my fans!

A few day's ago I decided that I wouldn't let this fic stand alone, so I'm currently working on a sequel.

The title has yet to be determined, but I got a pretty good idea for a plot. Hope you are looking forward to it.


	27. Traveling alone

Disclaimer: Nope, Slayers is not mine

Traveling alone

Where is he heading?

Eruk was walking away from the town. Leaving the other behind wasn't something he was to thrilled to do, but he felt it had been done. 

"Are you really leaving?" Nimph asked. The only answer she got was his silence. "But aren't they your friends?" Eruk just kept on walking, silent despite her many questions. "Don't you feel bad about it? Some of them seems rather nice..." Before she could finish her sentence, Eruk snapped her from midair "I never asked you to follow me around" he hissed. He stopped walking and released his grip. The creature in his hand was shaking from fear. "Listen Nimph, I don't mind your company as long as you don't push me" he gave her a piercing look. "I'm sorry" she sobbed "I was only trying to help". He couldn't help but smile a bit. It was true what people said, making someone else suffer could actually easy your own pain, and her pain really was delicious. 

He took a few more steps, before falling to the ground screaming clutching his head in pain. "Is something wrong?" Nimph asked in concern. He reached out for her "ple…please help me" he groaned. "Are you losing it again?" she asked while poking his nose. He could only groan in pain, as another being started taking over his body. "I guess this really is serious…" Nimph wondered. Without hesitation she put her hand on his forehead. She started glowing faint pink, as she absorbed the evil energy he radiated, and replaced it with positive energy. 

Slowly his pain faded, and he started to regain his control. He dragged himself over to a large boulder at the roadside. He slumped down next to it and tried to catch his breath. "I did it" he whispered "I kept in control". He took a deep breath. He hesitated to admit it, but he knew that he owed it to the fairy. 

"How do you do that?" he asked after awhile. "Do what?" she asked in return, obviously clueless to what he meant. He tried another approach to question "How is it, that you are able to calm me down like this?". Nimph sat down on his shoulder "oh that! Well I live by absorbing that kind of energy, I guess the calming effect is just a strange thing that happens to humans". Eruk stood up "So that's why you are here now? Without my energy you would starve?". Nimph said nothing, but her attitude told him that he was right. "I guess this means that we have to depend on each other from now on" he sighed.

Summoning all of his remaining strength, he stood up. Carefully he started walking forward. He knew that it had cost him a great deal of energy to battle the evil power inside him, and that he ought to be resting. But he also knew that it would only be a matter of time before the others started looking for him. He needed to be as far away as possible when that happened. 

"Can I ask you a question?" Nimph asked carefully. Even though she much preferred to be straight forward, his outburst before had taught her to be careful around him. He turned his head, slightly annoyed of her many questions "What is it?" He didn't really want to answer anymore or her usually pointless questions, but he felt like he owed her something to repay her help. "I was just wondering" she started, sounding more serious that he had ever heard her before, "where are we going? And why won't you tell me why you are going alone?". He shook his head slightly annoyed, but more than that, he felt sad. 

"We are going to Xen" he explained "Everything I search for is there". He walked on in silence. "But why alone?" Nimph asked again. He hesitated, but figured that she would keep asking, unless she got her answer. "I have left the others in order to protect them" Realizing that this was all the answer she would be getting for now, Nimph flew down to the pocket she had claimed for her bedroom to take a nap. It didn't take long before she was snoring loudly. 

The sun was setting when he reached a small village. The tranquil atmosphere made him fell good. He sat down by a fountain. All the villagers were just walking around doing what they usually did. Many of them didn't even realize that there was a traveler in town. "It sure is peaceful around here isn't it?" Nimph asked. "No fighting, no bad people, except from you, of course" she added with a sly smile in Eruk's direction. He heard her, but decided to let it slide. The fairy really wasn't that bad company after all. "Shouldn't you be hiding or something?" he asked "this is the outer world after all, a magic creature like you could cause quite a commotion". He looked around, hoping that nobody would pay too much attention to them. Luckily they were pretty well hidden. "You are such a spoilsport" Nimph grunted and crept into his pocket. "Don't be angry" he laughed "how about I find us a nice inn? I bet some food and rest would put you in a better mood". The scowl on Nimphs face turned into a big smile "That's the first good thing you've said so far" she beamed.

Eruk stood up. Now that he had made a promise, he just hoped that a village of this size actually had an inn. After walking around for some time and not finding anything, Nimph started getting impatient. 

"Ok ok, you win" Eruk finally gave in to her pleading "I'll ask somebody". He looked around, with the sun gone down most people had left the street. But there was still a few walking around. He passed up an old man that walked by "Excuse me sir, but could you direct me to and inn or another place were I can spend the night?". The man looked him over and then smiled "Why, of course young man. I'll take you there at once". 

The old man led Eruk through the narrow streets of the town. He proved to be quite talkative too. Eruk did the best he could to answer the mans questions without saying to much. "So where are you heading, my friend?" the old man asked conversationally. Eruk shrugged "Nowhere special, I go where there is money and adventure to be found". The old man stopped walking "an adventurer, huh?" he asked with a smile "Not much to do in this area I bet. I hear all the great treasure lies within the barrier lands". Eruk looked at him with a smile "Even adventurers needs a break, so how about that inn?". 

The old geezer started walking again "You know, I was quite the adventurer in my days as well…" Eruk didn't really bother to listen, but he made a point in looking like he did. 

"Ah yes those were the good old days" The geezer finished his story just as they reached a pretty large wooden building. "Here you are my friend!" The old man gesture to the building "the finest inn in town!". _It looks pretty plain _Eruk thought _But who cares? I'm going to spend the night there not buy it_. "Thank you for showing me, sir" he said, while giving the old man a light bow. He dug into his pocket and found a gold piece "For your troubles, sir" he said as he handed it over. The man took the gold and waved goodbye. 

__

A pretty nice old guy…Eruk thought before he went inside.

The old man smiled, as he watched Eruk from the shadows. This was just perfect for his plan. Two people came up behind him. "He's in there?" Ascard asked, while pointing to the inn. "Of course he is!" the old man hissed "unlike you two screw-ups, I get the job done". Ascard took a step back "Forgive our uselessness, lord Loid". Somewhere behind him he heard Neela grumble "You speak for yourself. You're the one with all the pathetic plans". Ascard ignored her. Ever since she lost the fairy, she had been very difficult to control, and he wouldn't risk being blown up again. "This time is going to be different" Ascard promised "10 of our best chimeras stand ready to strike at my command". 

Loid smiled and scratched his beard "You know what I require". Two chimeras walked up to them. "I'm required elsewhere" Loid said "Don't screw up". All three of them vanished in a flash. Ascard looked at his partner. Having lost Nimph somewhere, had left her with only her violent personality. At least he no longer had trouble making her fight. However, he was a bit worried that she would blow everything up at once. He needed to face Eruk in battle to fulfill his new orders.

Eruk entered the dimly light inn. There weren't that many people there he noticed. Judging from their looks most of them were common townsfolk, but a few looked like travelers just like himself. He walked up to the man running the bar. The innkeeper smiled as he approached "Good evening sir, what can I do for you?". Eruk ignored his cheerfulness "I need a room for the night, and a good meal". He knew that he was rather blunt, but he just didn't feel all that cheerful at the moment. "Whoa, easy there sonny" the innkeeper laughed "I was only trying to be friendly". 

Eruk shook his head, and gave a forced smile "Sorry, it's been a rough day" he excused himself. The innkeeper slapped him on the back "Ahh no hard feelings." He handed Eruk a set of keys and started to guide him to a table. "Could I have the food in my room?" Eruk asked, "the noise here is killing my ears". The innkeeper shrugged "I can arrange for that, but it will cost a bit extra". Eruk nodded "I can live with that". 

He knew that it was foolish, but before he left the others, he had helped himself to some of Linas treasures, without her knowing it of course. The innkeeper leaned close to his ear "I have to say that you have made a wise choice by eating in your room. If you think it's noisy now, then just wait till that lady over there gets a little more to drink. I'm telling ya, her laughing can scare the hell out of you. The only reason I haven't kicked her out, is that she drinks enough for ten ordinary customers. I even heard that they named a special brand of ale after her inside the barrier". Eruk looked at the woman the innkeeper was talking about. She was sitting in a corner all to herself, but judging after the empty bottles strewn around her, she didn't seem to mind. Even though she was sitting down, he was pretty sure that she was taller than him. Her raven black hair hung down her back, covering her body more than her skimpy outfit. Eruk turned his back on her, and headed for his room.

"Here you are sir", The innkeeper opened the door to a small chamber. Eruk took a step inside. Just as he had expected it was a simple room without any unnecessary luxury. The only furniture were a simple bed, a few chairs and a wooden table. "This will be fine" he said, "Now, if you could please send somebody with a menu". The innkeeper eagerly nodded and turned to leave, but Eruk held him back "I might have forgotten to mention this, but make sure that you bring a dessert card as well". The innkeeper blinked a few times in wonder. Having worked at the inn most of his life, he thought himself pretty good at judging other people. He had quickly determined that his new guest was the no-nonsense type. And according to his experience, that type of people usually just ate because they had to. 

"A dessert card, sir?" he asked. Eruk nodded "yes, a dessert card, and no questions asked". he narrowed his eyes "Just remember, curiosity killed the cat, so make sure that your employees knock before they enter my room". He closed the door. 

"you can come out Nimph" he said, as he sat down on the bed. The fairy flew up and sat a little distance away from him. She was being unusual silent. "What's the matter?" he asked "this isn't like you at all". She turned to look at him "Why did the cat have to die?" she asked, while drying her eyes with a little piece of her outfit. "The cat?" Eruk asked, not sure what she was talking about. "you said the cat was killed" she sobbed "I like cats. They are just so cute and fluffy". Realization dawned on Eruk "Oh that" he chuckled "it's just a saying. It doesn't mean that a cat actually died". He silently reminded himself to watch his words around the fairy. "Really?" she asked "The cat really didn't die?". Eruk smiled at her "of course not". The smile returned to her face "oh that's good! Kittens are just sooo cute! Except when they mistake me for a mouse… But I still think it's a bad saying…". She was interrupted by a knock on the door "Your menu, sir" a waiter called. 

Eruk opened the door "Thanks, could you wait for a few minutes while I decide?" The waiter nodded and took a step back. "Here you go" He handed Nimph the dessert card. She stared at it for a few seconds without saying anything. "Don't act so surprised" Eruk laughed "I've seen you a couple of times before you sought me out, and I have noticed how hot you are for sweet stuff. Choose whatever you like". Her smile brightened. Eruk started looking through his own menu. "Have you decided, sir?" the waiter knocked on the door. "Just a second" Eruk called back. "Well, Nimph?" he asked " Have you decided?". She eagerly nodded "I'll have the super-duper special parfait". Eruk went over to the door and handed the menus back to the waiter "I'll have the stew, and the parfait special" he said. The waiter wrote down his order and left. 

Eruk sat down at the tables and took of his gloves. It had been far too long since he had cleaned his weapons properly. He took small bottle of metal polish from his backpack and started cleaning the blades. "What are you doing?" Nimph asked. "I'm working" he explained. She sat down and looked at him "It sure don't look like work to me". Eruk tore a small piece of the rag he used "I'm buying you dinner" he said "the least you can do is help out in return". Nimph took the rag "you're no fun" she pouted. 

They worked for a while, and just as they finished the waiter brought them the food. 

"You know" Eruk said "I've been wondering. That parfait were much bigger than you are, how in the world were you able to eat all of it?". Nimph lay on her back, patting her stomach "I can't help it! It just taste soooo good" she giggled. "And here I thought you were supposed to live by absorbing my energy?" he asked.

Time passed, and Eruk decided that it was time to go to sleep. "Whatyoutiredalready? I'mnottired!comeonlet'splaysomemore!" Nimph was running around on his blanket, talking in rapid-fire. He sighed deeply, buying her that dessert had really been a huge mistake. By just being her usual self, she could be a bit to hyper for his taste, but now that she was high on sugar, she was totally out of control. 

"Listen Nimph, I don't want to play hide-and-seek" he tried to explain. "Afraidtoloseareyou?" she giggled "oklet'splaysomethingelse!". Eruk grabbed hold of her wings and lifted her up. "listen to me, and listen good" he said "I want you to fly over to the table and wait for me. I know a great game we can play". She clapped her tiny hands "Okokok!I'mflying!couldyouletgoofme?". He loosened his grip and let her go. While she was flying in circles above the table, Eruk smiled evilly as he found a piece of paper. Nimph was very naive, so maybe this could work. With a pen he wrote a few words on both sides. He placed the paper in front of the hyper fairy. "Listen, this is a magic piece of paper" he explain "in this game, all you have to do, is what is written on the paper". 

Nimph's eyes darted back and forth between the paper and his face "I don't understand" she said while trying her best to keep her voice in a normal pace. "It's simple really" Eruk assured her "If the paper says *turn over* like it does now, all you have to do it turn it over". As Nimph started playing with her new toy, Eruk went to sleep.

Outside the inn, Ascard motioned for his men to surround the building. "And remember, he is not to be harmed until I have fought against him" he repeated. "Is it due to that old fools order, or because you have a personal score to settle?" Neela asked casually. Ascard didn't answer. "You ignoring me?" Neela hissed, and prepared a fireball. Ascard gulped "Of course not! I was just thinking about your question". Neela smiled evilly "and the answer is?". He backed away "a little of both, I guess". Neela dissolved the fireball and nodded "that's what I thought". A few of the more human-like chimeras was silently laughing. Ascard had always been the best, and now he was afraid of a woman. The swordsman gave them a threatening look "We attack on my signal" he said.

Authors notes:

Yes, I'm back now. 

Looks like Eruk and Nimph are becoming friends, doesn't it? Her calming powers sure seems like they could come in handy. Now the big question is, just how much does Eruk really remember? Ad as you know, the only way to find out is to keep reading.

It seems like you really like my little story huh, Ramaon? *Readies bastard sword* If you want Eruk, you'll have to get past me!!! Just kidding, I would never hurt a fan anyway.

And a little comment to Otaku-girl. No hard feelings about the entire calling me a girl thing. *Mutters* It's not like it haven't happened before… Just leave it alone ok??!! It's embarrassing…


	28. Follow the rogue

Disclaimer: Why do I bother?

Follow the rouge

The path is decided

The morning sun shone through a light blanket of clouds. The light gently fell upon Sylphiels sleeping form. With a light snort, she turned over to avoid the sun teasing her eyes. Slowly she started to wake up. Blinking to adjust her eyes to the light, she sat up and yawned. She looked around. This wasn't her room. She instantly woke completely. Her heart pounded as she looked around, but relaxed as she recognized the place. This was Eruk's room, she had waited there all night. She had hoped that he would come back during the night, but it would seem that he didn't. "Eruk dear, what are you doing?" she whispered. 

Even though she was fully dressed, she still pulled the blanket up in front of her when somebody knocked the door. "Who is it?" she asked. 

Amelia and Filia came into the room. "Oh good morning" Sylphiel gave them a weak smile. "He didn't come back, did he?" Filia asked, as she sat down next to the shrinemaiden. Sylphiel looked down "No he didn't". Amelia sat down on the other side "don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon" she assured her friend. She didn't sound as convincing as she had hoped though. Sylphiel smiled at the two girls "Thank you for saying that, but I'm not so sure…". 

Filia sighed "This is all my fault isn't it?" she asked "If I hadn't lost my temper, none of this would have happened". Sylphiel raised her head and looked the dragon straight in the eyes "don't you say that miss Filia. I have a feeling that this was going to happen, no matter what". Filia nodded and waited for her to go on. "I don't think any of you knows about this" Sylphiel continued " but during the last few weeks be became more and more frustrated". 

"Really?" Amelia asked "I never noticed, he always seemed so cheerful". Sylphiel stood up and walked over to the window "that's what he wanted you to believe. He didn't want anyone to worry about him. What happened after you lost you temper, miss Filia, could have happened at any time. But why would he would leave on his own? And at a time like this?". 

Amelia went pale as she suddenly remembered something "Miss Sylphiel? I…" Both girls waited for her to go on, but she didn't. "Miss Amelia, please. If you know anything, please tell me" Sylphiel said. Amelia nodded and went on "Last night while you were sleeping, I saw him holding a fairy, And I'm sure that it was the one that used to be with those two people that hunts him. He even said so himself". Filia looked around in the room "well in any case, that thing isn't here now. Does that means that they left together?". 

All three of them was silent for a while. "We'd better go talk to miss Lina, I'm sure she knows what to do" Amelia suggested. The two others agreed.

The 3 girl agreed on going directly to the restaurant, it would be more likely to find Lina there, than in her room. The first thing they noticed as they entered the small restaurant, was Lina sitting at a table all to herself looking extremely ticked off. "Sylphiel there you are!" Lina cried and rushed over to the purple haired girl, and started shaking her violently. "That friend of yours, where is he?". Sylphiel fought to keep breathing "Miss…Lina…He…didn't come…back". 

Lina let go of her, and stomped back to the table "Hey mister" she shouted "who told you that you could slack off? I want more food!". While Filia was helping Sylphiel recover, Amelia sat down next to Zel. "What's wrong with her?" she asked "Miss Lina seems unusually mad this morning". Lina swallowed a piece of meat "of course I'm mad!" she cried "That cheating good-for-nothing lowlife to Eruk stole most of my money!". 

Zel smiled "Stealing from thieves, can't trust anyone these days…" he mumbled to himself. Faster than the eye, a knife hit the table in front of him. "watch it Zel" Lina warned "I'm not in the mood for any wisecracks". Filia and Sylphiel joined the others and watched Lina in silence.

Finally she pushed the empty plates away "I feel much better now" she exclaimed. That was the cue that the group had been waiting for. They left the table they had been sitting by and joined Lina. "Well?" Zel asked "We need to chose our next move". Lina agreed "As I see it, we have three choices people. 

One: We follow the basta…" she shot Sylphiel a look and corrected herself "What I mean is, we follow the guy. 

Two: We wait for him to come back. 

Or number three: we just go home!" 

The rest of the group groaned at her last suggestion. "I see" Lina went on "I want to find that guy. Nobody steals from Lina Inverse unpunished!" Her expression softened as she turned her attention to Sylphiel "I guess it's up to you to decide our next move". Sylphiel went pale "you… want me to decide?" she asked nervously. 

"Look Lina's right" Zel agreed "You know him better than any of us. Is there any chance that he will be coming back here?". Sylphiel looked down at the table "I had hoped that he would be coming back, but…". Taki started giggling for herself "If he was stealing from miss Lina, I doubt he would be planing on coming back". Lina shot her a glare that made her shut up immediately. "I don't think miss Lina liked the way you said that" Amelia whispered to her friend. "but in the end, you have a good point" she added out loud. 

Zel looked Sylphiel straight in the eyes "personally I agree with those two" he pointed at Amelia and Taki "but you are the one that knows him best. Do we stay, or do we track him down? The choice is yours". Sylphiel didn't feel all too comfortable with everyone staring at her. "I think we should follow him…" she finally said. 

"Ok, let's get going!" Taki shouted, causing most people nearby to stare at her. With a sigh Zelgadis put his cup down "hold it right there" he said "First we need to find out in what direction he left, and secondly we need supplies". Lina nodded "right. Zel and Amelia, you go and buy whatever we need. The rest of you, try to figure out in what direction he left". Zel and Amelia was the first to leave. Just before Zel went out the door he turned around "and what are you going to do Lina?" he asked. "Why, I'm coordinating the search from here, of course" Lina answered innocently. Zel shrugged "that figures". 

"So where do you think we should go, miss Filia?" Sylphiel asked. She had teamed up with the dragon to search the north part of the town, while Taki and Gourry took care of the southern end. Filia looked around "I'm not certain" she admitted. "Why don't we try over there?" Filia pointed at a small guardhouse by the gate. 

Sylphiel carefully knocked on the door. A young soldier opened the door "yeah? what do you want?" he asked, sounding like he was extremely bored. "Um, we would really appreciate if you could help us" Sylphiel said. The soldier took another look outside. Normally he only checked the merchants entering the town. This was most likely the most boring job the commander could possibly could stick him with. And he only got there because he fell asleep during a drill. He smiled to himself, the job had just gotten a lot more interesting. Outside the door was 2 beautiful young women, seemingly desperate for HIS help. 

"Why of course" he said "please come inside. By the way, my name is Killian". The two girls looked nervously at each other, while Killian was busy tiding up and making room by his small table. "Actually we just wanted…" Filia started, but was cut of. "Wait!" Killian posed dramatically "don't tell me, you have been robbed!" Sylphiel shook her head "No, we just…" Killian did another pose "I see now! You are being followed by assassins, and need my protection". Filia shook her head. The guy was really trying he patience. He gasped, and did another pose, one that would make even Amelia proud. "Could it be, that you family is planning on selling both of you to a monster as human sacrifices. A monster that only needs the blood of two innocent maidens to destroy the world….". He immediately went silent, as Filia slammed her mace down right in front of him "would you be quiet, and listen to what we have to say??" She cried. 

Killian stopped talking and swallowed hard. His face went pale as his eyes were carefully following the tail that had popped out beneath her dress. Obviously those two weren't normal village girls. "We just wanted to know if you had seen a man that looks like this…." Sylphiel said, and started describing how Eruk looked. Killian was only able to nod, and say strange non-understandable words. "Well, have you seen him or not?" Filia asked. He looked at her in fear "Ye…yes, ma'am" he stuttered. Sylphiels face light up "Really?" she asked. "I saw him last night, leaving town" Killian said. Not once did his eyes leave Filias mace. "But I must say that it's been a while since I saw someone as gruff and unfriendly as him" Killian added "why don't you stay here instead of going after that guy?". 

"I guess you could say this is pretty lucky" Filia said, smiling brightly, as they were heading back to the inn. Behind them the guardhouse was a smoking ruin. "It is" Sylphiel agreed "But I still don't think it was necessary to turn into a dragon and blow the poor guy up".

"Oh, there you are!" Amelia shouted, as Filia and Sylphiel entered the restaurant "I hope you found out anything". They sat down by the table. "It would seem that he is heading north" Filia said. Lina nodded "That means, starting tomorrow, we are heading north as well!". Sylphiels eyes widened "Can't we go now?" she asked. "Lina's right" Zel agreed "We all know how much you want to find him, but it's almost sunset and none of us knows this area. In the end we could loose more time wandering around in the darkness". Sylphiel hesitated, but finally agreed with the logic.

It was late in the evening, and even though all of them had agreed to get some rest, Sylphiel found herself unable to sleep. She lay in her bed and listened to the rain against the window. Once in a while thunder could be heard in the distance. A white flash of lightning illuminated the room, and seconds later the silence was broken by a loud rumble, as thunder followed the lightning. She pulled the blanket over her head. She simply hated that sound. It was just like being back in Sairaag, 3 years ago. 

It was the same when Rezo destroyed the town. A flash of light followed by an explosion. She let out a small scream as the episode replayed itself in side her head. She stayed like that for a while. She suddenly heard a strange high pitched sound, almost like a door opening. She swallowed hard, it was the sound of a door opening, it was the door to her room. Carefully she pulled the blanket away. Something was slowly advancing on her. In the darkness it looked like a humanoid creature with tentacles hanging down from its head. She pressed herself into the corner, and pulled the blanket around her. She wanted to scream, but found herself unable to say anything. 

"Are you ok there?" the creature suddenly asked. A lightning bolt flashed in the same moment, revealing his face. 

"Oh Gourry dear" Sylphiel sighed "you scared me!". Gourry sat down next to her. He was soaked from the rain. "What happened to you" she asked. "Oh this? Well, I had to go pick up my sword from the blacksmith. That friend of yours was really hard on it, you know". Looking at him made her blush in embarrassment, the things that she had thought to be tentacles was actually just his hair. "Actually, I was worried about you" he said "I heard you screaming, so I wanted to see if there was something wrong". She smiled. This was the reason that she liked him that much. He always cared for everyone around him. "No, it was nothing Gourry dear" she said "I just don't like thunder". He took her hand, not noticing how fiercely she was blushing. "I see. I was the same was when I was a kid" he said "Hey, how about if I tell you a bedtime story, mom always did that for me, I think". 

She smiled "no Gourry dear, it's ok…" she was cut of as he cleared his throat "Ahem. A long time ago there was a beautiful dragon, who was held hostage by the evil princess…" Sylphiel sighed, she had to admit that his storytelling left something to be desired. "And then the frog defeated the prince and married the horse, at least I think it was the horse…" Gourry kept trying to tell the story right. Sylphiel just drifted of to sleep, calmed by his voice.

Authors notes:

Aww weren't that cute? Gourry telling Sylphiel a bedtime story. As you might have noticed, there was noting about Eruk in this chapter. For the rest of the story (almost), I will follow two different storylines. Now, I bet you can't wait to find out what happens next. Here's a hint, Eruk will meet a new companion. Some of you might have already guessed her identity, but for those who haven't, there's no way I'm gonna ruin it.


	29. The dark sorceress

Disclaimer: things to do in 2004… take over the slayers, 'cause I still don't own it.

The dark sorceress

A new companion?

A huge explosion rocked the usually peaceful inn. Eruks eyes shot open. Something was terrible wrong. He jumped out of bed and looked around. Through the window he saw a flickering orange light and gray clouds raising towards the sky. _Fire? What's going on here?_ He thought. "Nimph, did you see anything?" he shouted. "Stupid magic paper!" the fairy shouted in response "why won't you ever tell me to do anything different than just turn over!". It was obvious that she hadn't noticed anything. 

Eruk quickly got dressed and grabbed his belongings as he ran for the door. "Nimph we're leaving!" he snapped the fairy away from the table and stuffed her into a pocket. "Ouch! Watch it, you big oaf!" she cried in protest. As he ran through the hallway a horrible sound sent a chill down his spine. It sounded like someone, or something, laughing. He swallowed hard, the only way out was in the direction of the sound. 

As he ran flames started burning their way through the floor, and he was soon surrounded by a blazing inferno. He reached the door to the restaurant. From there the exit was straight ahead. He kicked the burning door open. The sight that met him made him stop dead in his tracks. 

"OHOHOHOHO! you fool's dare to challenge the mighty Naga, the white serpent?" The woman he had seen earlier in the evening was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by several *things*. The chimeras turned in his direction. "There he is!" one of them shouted. Eruk quickly thought his options over, before he ran to the crazy woman's side. It was not something he enjoyed, but given the situation, it was better to be in open space, and not in a narrow hallway. Besides an enemy of an enemy had to be considered a friend in this situation. At least the woman didn't show any love for his enemies. 

"Miss, what's going on here?" he asked, hoping that the scantly clad woman knew more of the situation than him. "Oh I can tell you that", a tall figure walked through the flames. "YOU!" Eruk shouted. "Yes indeed" Ascard smirked as he drew his sword. "Listen up, no one is to lay a hand on that guy" he shouted "I don't care about the woman. Kill her and burn the place down!". "OHOHOHO!!!" Naga laughed "How foolish you are to think that I, The great Naga, is killed so easily. FREEZE ARROW!". The spell fired off and flew towards the target. 

"Useless!" Ascard shouted as the spell fizzled before him. "Neela, take care of that woman!" he ordered. The blue haired woman shot him an angry glare. "If you would be so kind…" he added nervously. 

Eruk felt a draft as Nimph flew from his pocket. "Mistress, why are you doing this? You know it's wrong!" she pleaded. "I'm not the wimpy little girl I used to be" Neela smiled evilly "I happen to like being like this. Now get out of my way, you annoying pest!". Nimph gasped as a backhand blow knocked her unconscious. "That leaves only you and me, hussy". Neela smirked as she turned her attention to Naga "FIREBALL!". The spell fired of and flew towards the target."Oh you amateur!" Naga laughed "FREEZE ARROW!". The two spells collided and dissolved. 

"Stay back and let me take care of this failure" Ascard ordered the chimeras. "you think I will go down without a fight?" Eruk shouted as he leapt forward. Ascard blocked the attack and threw Eruk to the ground. "Pathetic" he smirked. Eruk quickly rolled away as the armored man brought his sword down. He got back on his feet and took a few steps backwards. In the corner of his left eye, he could see Naga battling Neela. It was obvious that they were on equal skill level, and that worried him. Even if Naga won, there would still be the chimeras to worry about. If she was killed, he wouldn't stand a chance. 

Ascard made another attack that knocked him down. _This isn't good_ he thought _at this rate, I will lose. _He jumped up and charged forward. His attacks was more vicious this time. "Very good failure" Ascard smirked "it would seem that anger really does make you stronger. If we keep this up, you might be able to win". Eruk could feel that the swordsman was right, but he could also feel his control over his mind slipping. 

Ascard made another swing for Eruks head. Quickly Eruk got down on one knee and blocked the attack before it could slice him in half. "Well well, would you look over there" Ascard shot a glance to the right "it would seem that you little fairy friend is about to get a lot hotter". Eruk turned his head in the direction Ascard had nodded. The fire was rapidly approaching the unconscious fairy. "Nimph! No" he whispered. 

He let himself fall backwards. Ascard had not predicted this move, and lost balance. With all his powers Eruk kicked the man away, before running to Nimph. "Are you ok?" he asked as he picked the tiny creature up. 

Suddenly he felt something move behind him, and he jumped away. In midair he felt a sharp pain in his back. Turning around he saw Ascard standing triumphantly. His sword was covered in blood. "Finally got you" he said. "Like hell you did" Eruk spat "I'm not dead yet". Ascard smiled back "Trust me, If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing now. I just had to wound you". He turned and ran away "Neela, we have done what we came to do! Blow this place up!". 

Neela dodged another freeze arrow. "Enough of these stupid games!" she shouted. "Who's stupid here?" Naga cried as she leaped forward. Neela pointed at a wooden pillar that supported the ceiling "I'd say you are! Flare arrow!". As the spell hit the target, the building started to collapse. "See you later hussy. NOT" Neela winked as she teleported away with Ascard and the chimeras. Eruk stood up, and without thinking about it he threw himself against Naga. "Hey what do you think you aHHHHHHHH!" she cried as both of them vanished in a flash.

Flashes of light passed by in lightning speed. To Eruk it seemed like he was traveling through a dark tunnel of nonexistence. He felt like all of his strength was drawn out of his body. On the verge of collapsing he focused all of his magic power in an attempt to control the situation. As he slipped into unconsciousness he saw the otherwise black surroundings gradually turn green.

"Hey look, it looks like he's waking up now!" Nimph cried. Naga however didn't listen, and dumped a bucket of water on him. Eruk slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the sky. "Where am I?" he whispered. 

"I was hoping that YOU could tell ME" a female voice inquired. Slowly he turned his head. Even though the sun in his eyes severely diminished his sight, he felt like there was something familiar about her. "Sylphiel?" he asked weakly. "What?" Naga asked "There was that name again? Sylphiel? Who's that?" she moved a bit to the side and allowed him a clear look. He immediately recognized her as that sorceress from the inn. "Oh it's you miss" he sighted. "What?" Naga shouted "first you get me involved in this, and now you ignore my greatness! No one treats Naga the serpent with that little respect!". 

Nimph landed on his chest "Please miss Naga! He's just confused that's all". Eruk nodded "I'm grateful and all, it's just…." Naga cut him off "Speak to me with gold, boy". After struggling a bit he managed to sit up "Gold is it?" He asked "well, I guess we could spare a few coins. He pulled a leather pouch from a pocket. Naga quickly snatched it away from him "OHOHOHOHO, I guess this will do for now" she laughed. "Wasn't that all of your money, master?" Nimph asked. Eruk nodded "Yes it was". Naga stood up and started to walk away. 

"We better get going too, Nimph" Eruk said as he got up "we wouldn't want anyone to beat us to the treasure, now would we?". Nimph sat down on his shoulder "Uhh treasure, master?" she asked, sounding confused. He smiled at her "yes, you know, the greatest treasure I have ever hunted. Of course, finding it is going to be difficult now that we don't have any travel money". Just as he had expected, a strong hand grabbed him from behind. "Not so fast there" Naga said "did I hear something about a treasure?". Eruk shrugged "I guess you did. But like I said, we can't keep traveling without any money". Nimph leaned closer "Is this some sort of trick, master?" she whispered. 

"Well, maybe we can come to some sort of agreement" Naga smiled "If you show me the way to that treasure of yours, I would be willing to sponsor this little treasure hunt". Nimph flew up in front of her "wow, you really will!!! That's so nice of you miss white serpent ma'am" she cried happily. "Of course I won't be working for free" Naga continued "I expect that I will be getting 80% of the treasure for myself". Eruk stopped walking _She's tough, I bet Lina would have offered me 40%, but whatever…._

"You drive a hard bargain miss Naga" He said "but at least 20% is better that a zero". He extended his hand "I guess this means I'll be working for you then, miss Naga". She took his hand "It's a deal".

"Why did you agree to work for her, master?" Nimph asked. "Well" Eruk started "you and I know that there is no treasure, and I must admit that it is reassuring to have a skilled sorceress on my side". Nimph shook her head "but what will happen when she finds out?". He shuddered "we'll think about it when it happens". Naga stopped walking "Hey, I suddenly remembered something. You never told me your name". Eruk walked past her "I have no name" he said "but some people call me Eruk". Naga started walking again "No name huh?".

"Then could you tell me how we got here?" Naga asked after a while. "I wish I knew…" Eruk admitted "but I believe that it was some sort of astral travel". Naga opened her mouth to say something. "Don't even ask, miss Naga" Eruk cut her of "I don't understand myself".

Nightfall came as the trio reached a fairly large town. "What the plan boss" Eruk asked casually "do we find a inn, or do we go on?". Naga looked around "We find an inn, of course! Do you expect the great Naga to sleep on the ground?". Eruk smiled to himself, he had kind of expected something along those lines "Then it is decided". He looked at the fairy "Why don't you go with miss Naga, while I go find out where we are?". Nimph swallowed hard "but she's so scary master, and what if you never come back?". He sighed "listen, you said that you can feel where I am. You two find an inn, and then you find me". He leaned closer "besides, I need you around to control… my problem…" he whispered. As agreed they split up.

"You know, of course, that I expect that back as soon as possible" Ascard threatened as his sword was carried of to the lab. "Oh no need to worry" Loid smirked "all I need is a sample of the blood". After meeting Eruk in person, even Loid had to admit that he was more than just a failed experiment. In his short life he had learned more than anyone would expect. "And you say that he has even learned magic?" Loid asked again. "If you call that magic, then yes…." Neela sneered. Being a sorceress herself, she was not impressed with the limited magic Eruk knew. But even she had to admit that his unique way of using fire magic was pretty interesting. 

"Be sure that the copy process goes smoothly" Loid reminded his robed assistants "We only have this one sample of blood, and with the source gone, we cant get anymore". Neela looked at Ascard and smiled evilly "You see how a job should be done? No one can survive a building being dropped on them". Ignoring her gloating Ascard went over to one of the strange machines "So you're actually giving this another try?" he asked, looking at the body that had started forming in the bubbling liquid inside.

Loid nodded "Yes, he should be ready in a day or so. Then he'll be ready to lead the chimera army". 

"So, what you are telling me is that we have be transported to the other end of this kingdom?" Naga asked. Eruk nodded "Yes, from what I can tell, it'll take at least a week before we reach Xen". Naga sighted after downing another mug of wine "I knew, I should have charged you more…". Nimph was sitting in the middle of the table, looking at Naga in horror "are you sure that you should drink more of that stuff, miss Naga?" she asked the tall sorceress as she reached for the bottle again. "OHOHOHOHOHOH!" Naga laughed and stood up "I can handle a lot more that that!". At this time, most of the other guest was running to the exit. Eruk grid his teeth, he had heard that dreadful laugh several times by now and it was only a question of time before he reached his limit. 

"Please, no more!!!" Nimph squealed. Naga gave a satisfied nod and sat back down "So tell me, just how big is the treasure?" she asked. 

"Well…" Eruk started "supposedly a large treasure is hidden somewhere near the town of Xen. But other than that, I don't know anything.". Naga was displeased by the lack of information. "Look, I have a feeling that we know much more by the time we get there" he promised. 

As the evening went by Naga told a lot of tales about her past adventures. She even mentioned that she had a sidekick. "…But alas she couldn't keep up with my talent, and one night she just vanished" Naga finished her tale by downing yet another mug of wine. "That's quite impressive" Eruk said "especial the way you defeated 50 dragons all by yourself". Naga smiled "oh that was nothing, OHOHOHOHOHO!!". Eruk stood up "well, if you'll excuse me" he said "but I'll turn in for the night". He started walking towards the room "you coming, Nimph?" he asked before leaving the restaurant area.

Eruk sat down on his bed "so Nimph" he said "I'm hoping that you can tell me just how we got here". She pointed at herself "Me explain?" she asked "but I thought you knew. It was astral travel. You know the stuff mazukos and dragons do all the time". He slumped back into bed "So I wasn't lying to Naga after all…".

Authors notes:

Hello there, sorry it's been so long since I last updated! More than a week, that's pretty dull for a already written story. Again, SO sorry. I'll do my best to get back to my usual two updates a week now.

So, Naga finally made an appearance! How will Eruk handle his new companion? Will he continue to deceive her with promises of treasure or will he tell the truth? And of course, the really big question is, how long can he put up with her laugh?

And Otaku-girl, how in the world were you able to guess that the mysterious woman was Naga?? Ok ok, sorry about my sarcasm, I just can't help myself sometimes. 

Keep reading and reviewing ok?


	30. What’s going on here?

Disclaimer: I don't own slayers

What's going on here?

An army of chimeras?

"He doesn't look like much…" Neela spat. She was standing in from of a large test tube. Inside a new copy was almost ready. "Pay some respect girl" Loid sneered "He is going to lead my chimera army. And then we are taking over the entire world!!!". While Loid was laughing like mad, his assistants helped the copy out of the tube. He looked around, and picked up the clothes that was put out before him. Five cloaked people stood in a circle around him, allowing him some privacy as he got dressed. After a short while they stepped away. 

"So that's why he wanted the blood" Ascard thought out loud. Before him stood an almost perfect copy of the one he had hunted for so long. The Eruk clone looked around the room "where am I…?" he asked. "Ahh my dear boy!" Loid shouted "this is my lab, where I have recreated you, as you were meant to be". The copy nodded slowly "Yes, I remember. I died during an experiment. How is it that I live?". Loid cleared his troath "When you died, another copy was made. He was a failure, but he was still another you. By using his blood, it was a simple matter for someone with my genius to make another copy, and to make certain improvements". 

The clone looked straight in the old mans eyes "what kind of improvements?" he asked suspiciously. "Well for once…" Loid started "You are much stronger that you used to be, faster and smarter too. And…" Loid took a short break before going on "You should also have quite a few magic spells in your memory, all you need to do, is relearn them". 

"Magic" the copy frowned "I don't need that kind of cheap fireworks!". Loid posed dramatically "Oh magic is more than that my friend. Neela if you would be so kind…". The blue haired sorceress sighted and pointed at a large boulder "Fireball" she said without any emotion. A ball of flame flew from her hand and blew up the rock "this is what you promised me?" the copy asked "this is the power from within the barrier?". Loid nodded "yes, this added to your already considerable fighting skills, you have become truly powerful indeed my dear Shadow". The copy nodded "Shadow? Yes, that was what they used to call me. I was the best assassin in the known world". 

Ascard took a step back, this was the legendary Damien Shadowheart? He had heard the rumors about him. He was a bandit, assassin and mercenary. In short, he would do anything for money. Rumors had it that he had even hired himself out to the monster race in some rare occasions. Somewhere deep inside, Ascard had always admired him, but had also hoped that they would never meet. People said that once the Shadow accepted a job, the victim could already be considered dead. 

Loid led the small group of people through the large mansion "And here you have them" he said, as he opened a door "my army!". The entire courtyard were filled with chimeras. "Yes, just look at them" Loid shouted "All of them 1/4 human, troll, mazuko and berserker". Damien looked them over "Can they actually do anything?" he asked. "Ascard, give him your sword" Loid ordered. That tall warrior hesitated, but finally handed his most prized possession over". The copy took it "it's a bit heavier than what I'm used to". Loid pointed at one of the closest chimeras "attack him!" he ordered.

Without wasting any time, Damien had run up to the creature and slashed it viciously. It fell over, screaming in pain. "I see nothing special about them" he said as he handed the sword back. "Why don't you turn around then?" Loid asked, while smirking to himself. Damien turned around. The creature he had mortally wounded, was already standing at it's place in the line. "How did it…?" the assassin asked in confusion. "Simple" Loid explained "The troll part allows that kind of regeneration. The berserker is for strength, human for intelligence and the mazuko part gives limited magical abilities, and adds to the regeneration.

"Now show me what you can do!" Loid shouted "there is a village about a weeks travel to the south. Burn it down!". Damien looked back on the swordsman and sorceress "What about those two?" he asked. Loid walked towards them "they will go with you. Ascards abilities with the sword is top notch, and Neela is a pretty powerful sorceress. She could even help you with you new magical abilities". Acting almost simultaneous, the army vanished into the astral plane.

"Miss Lina, shouldn't we be leaving soon?" Filia asked. Lina stuffed another piece of sausage into her mouth "We can't leave on an empty stomach, now can we?". The dragon sighed and continued cradling the egg she was carrying "Don't worry little Val. We are leaving soon, the fresh air is going to make you feel much better". 

Taki watched her with curiosity "Miss Filia, can I ask you something?" she asked. "Of course, what do you want to know?" Filia carefully put the egg back in it's basket. "Well, I was just wondering…" Taki started "how can you tell how an egg feels?". Filia laughed "I just can. I guess it's the same with you race. I've heard that human mothers can tell that kind of thing". Taki giggled "I guess you are right about that. He umm really uhh looks like his mother". Filia blushed deeply "Oh no he's not mine in that way!! I mean…. I'm only 300. If circumstances were different, I would not even have considered raising a baby at my age!". 

Taki looked away and changed the subject "Look over there, miss Filia". Both of them looked over at the small table by the window. Sylphiel had been sitting there most of the morning, not talking to anyone. From what they could see, she had not eaten anything and barely touched her tea. "This is really hard on her isn't it?" Taki asked "I hope we find Eruk soon, or at least find out why he left so sudden". An eerie silence fell over the entire party. 

"Hey what's wrong with everybody?" Gourry asked " Why the sudden silence?". Lina slapped him in the back of the head "Be silent you idiot". All of them looked at the shrinemaiden. "I feel so sorry for her" Amelia whispered "Eruk seemed so nice…".

The gloomy atmosphere was broken when a wounded man stumbled inside. "DEMONS!" he shouted "An entire army of them! They are attacking the town!". Just as he finished talking, an explosion rocked the building. "What was that?" Lina shouted and stood up. "Demons?" Zel asked, and also stood up. Two of Loids chimeras crashed through the wall to the left of them. "OH NO!! IT'S THEM!!!" the man shouted. The creatures immediately started trashing the entire place. 

"No, not that" Lina whispered as the creatures approached the table with the food. One of the chimeras stuffed a handful of food into it's mouth. With a disgusted look on it's face it knocked the table over. "That's it!" Lina shouted "Gourry, let's take care of them". Gourry stopped eating and stood up "Alright, This journey has been far to dull already". He drew his sword. It was no sword of light, but it was straight and sharp. A true masterpiece of a brilliant blacksmith. 

He charged forward and slashed the nearest creature. It fell to the ground without a sound. "Good work Gourry!" Lina cheered "Now watch this! FIREBALL!!" The ball of flame exploded as it hit the target. Needless to say the creature was incinerated, along with a good portion of the inn. "Mr. Gourry watch out!" Amelia cried. The blonde swordsman heard her just in time to jump away. The chimera he brought down had recovered and attacked. The floor where he had been standing seconds ago crumbled as the creature punched with all of it's strength. 

"Lina? Didn't I just kill that thing?" he asked in confusion. "How should I know?" she cried back "FREEZE ARROW!". A bolt of cold hit the chimera and froze it solid. Zelgadis took a closer look at it "It would seem that you did hit it Gourry" he concluded "Look at those scars…" He pointed to the creatures chest. Two large scars were carved into it's skin. "I'm sure this was made by Gourry" Zel continued on "but I don't know about the other one". Lina came up next to him "They regenerate like trolls". 

"What was that?" Filia asked as an explosion was heard outside. The entire party ran out to investigate. A lot of the same creatures as the two from the inn ran around in the street. "It looks like an invasion" Amelia shouted. Lina grabbed hold of Filia "Hey you are from the outer world. What are those creatures?". Filia eyes widened "I don't know! I've never heard of creatures like that before". Taki drew her guns "I might not be a fighter, but this is just to cruel". Gourry held her back "easy there kid. You don't wanna mess with those creatures". Taki looked at him with big round puppy eyes "But we got to do something! This is almost the same as what happened in my village 4 years ago". 

Suddenly Zelgadis ran in front of them "Quick, protection barriers, NOW!" he shouted. Both him and Amelia cast a magical barrier. In the same second a fireball exploded in front of them. "What was that?" Lina shouted. "Oh just a little taste of things to come" A male voice answered through the smoke. "You!" Lina hissed "I've been waiting for this". Ascard smiled back to her "You've better save you strength girl, or should I say, little boy" He smirked. "That's it! I'm gonna kill you with my own two hands!" she cried and ran forward. Another fireball exploded and sent her flying backwards. "A little girl like you should really be more careful" Neela laughed. 

"So both of the goons are here now" Zel remarked , while Gourry and Amelia helped Lina back up. "Why are you attacking this peaceful village?" Filia shouted. "Oh I can answer that" a third voice could be heard through the smoke. Sylphiel, who had been quiet for some time tensed "no, that voice. It couldn't be…". Another man walked through the smoke. "Eruk!" Taki cried and ran forward. The silverhaired man smiled evilly. In a flash he had two slightly curved daggers in his hands. "Got you!" He whispered. Just as she got within range, Taki tripped over some debris. As she fell, she could feel something flying past her, just above the head. 

She fell to her knees, a few strands of brow hair gently floated down in front of her face. She looked up at the man in front of her. As her eyes fell on the twin daggers in his hands, she swallowed hard. This wasn't Eruk. She crawled backwards. "You seriously don't think you can get away from me, do you?" he asked. Taki closed her eyes, as he brought his weapons downwards for the kill. But instead of pain, she felt a hard pull on her upper body. Carefully she opened her eyes. She was back among her friends. 

"What happened?" she asked. "Mr. Zelgadis managed to pull you away" Amelia explained "You know how fast he is" she added with a hint of admiration in her voice. "Eruk, what do you think you are doing?!" Lina shouted. "Don't compare me to that guy" Damien spat "I am, what he should have been. Besides he's buried under a collapsed building now". 

Sylphiel fell to her knees "Dead?" she whispered. "NO! I refuse to believe it!" She stood back up and walked forward. "please tell me the truth" she pleaded "He can't be dead". Damien scratched his head "Well, who can be sure anyway? I actually hope that he's alive, so I can kill him myself". 

The entire chimera army started gathering behind their leader. Even the one from the inn that was frozen solid a few minutes ago, were slowly moving towards the rest of the army. "But who cares about such petty thing as that now" Damien continued "These creatures are almost impossible to kill, and with their aid, I'll take over all of the world!". Lina groaned "yeah yeah gather army, take over world etc. etc. Come on, can't you think of anything more original?". 

Damien spun around "oh, but I have. I want to enslave both the gods and mazukos too. Complete control of every being in existence! That is what I want". Even Ascard and Neela looked at him in disbelief "You are crazy!" Ascard spat "Yes, you are powerful, but taking on the gods? It can't be done!". Damien turned to face him "I believe it can. Both of you," he pointed at Neela and Ascard "are made by using low level mazuko, and just look at the power you have gained. I on the other hand, was made with the remaining energy of the demon dragon king". He started laughing, and true to his words he sounded almost like Gaav. 

"WHAT! You are crazy!" Lina cried "Gaav was destroyed by Hellmaster. There was no remaining energy!". Damien stopped laughing "It is possible, I assure you. You see, Gaav was one part human. The crazy old man Loid, found a few strands of his hair, and using that, he tried to infuse a human with the power of the demon dragon king. That human was named Damien Shadowheart!". Everyone looked at him in silent horror. "He's telling the truth" a voice came from behind. 

"Xellos!" Lina shouted. The trickster priest had appeared behind them without making a sound. Zelgadis was the first to notice the change in the mazukos attitude. His eyes were wide open and the air around him radiated with power. It was obvious that he was ready for a full scale battle. "Lina, this it no joke!" Zel warned "For once Xellos is telling the truth". Lina nodded in understanding, Things were very wrong when Xellos decided to fight. With a flick of his wrist Damien gave the order to attack. All of his chimeras charged forward. "Filia, Amelia! Protect Sylphiel and Taki!" Lina ordered "This is going to be messy!".

Authors notes:

Talk about cliffhanger!! How will Lina and the others get out of this situation?

It would seem that they have quite an opponent in Damien Shadowheart.

And on that note, Airi-chan, how do you like the latest plot twist? It would be boring if I made this story too predictable, wouldn't it?

Finally, Ramaon, you are really starting to scare me! You seem to be just a little obsessed with Eruk don't you? I really have to watch my back if I ever get to Canada…

Till next time!


	31. Almost there

Disclaimer: I should have made it painfully obvious by now. I don't own slayers!

Almost there

Miss Naga, shouldn't we be going?

"Man, I can't believe I actually got myself into this!" Eruk complained as he slipped another dirty plate into the sink. "But master, you were the one who wanted to travel with miss Naga and…" Nimph tried to start a conversation. "Yeah yeah, I know. But I never expected her to stick me with the bill. She knew I had no money!". Nimph pick up a small rag and started drying a plate "But we can make this fun! See, I dry this side and you dry the other side!" For a few seconds he just stared at the tiny creature "And here I though my life couldn't be any worse…" he gDamiened. A few hours later he was finished. 

"So what took you so long sidekick?" Naga asked. "Look, I had to work off all of your debt, you could at least show some gratitude" he mumbled under his breath. "What was that sidekick?" Naga shot him a hard glance. He remained silent. "That's what I thought I heard" The sorceress nodded. The three of them had left as soon as Eruk had finished his work at the inn. 

Eruk had followed behind Naga for a good part of the day. "Master, You've been staring at miss Naga all day, are you attracted to her or something?" Nimph whispered into Eruk's ear. He paled and started coughing "NO! It's just that she reminds me of someone…". Nimph giggled "Whatever you say master…".

"Miss Naga?" Eruk asked "Could you tell me why we are hiding inside these bushes?". Naga pulled some branches away "Bandits" she whispered. He took a look outside. The bandit hideout was almost like a well guarded fortress. In the front, a tall wood wall had been built to protect them from attacks. Inside it seemed like most of the hideout was built into a large mountain. "I see the bandits" he whispered back "what does they have to do with us?". She looked at him in wonder "Bandits are the sure way to fame and fortune. Beat them and steal their treasure, find some grateful villagers and you have fame. What kind of treasure hunter are you anyway?". Nimph swallowed hard "Are we busted now?". Eruk ignored her "So that is what makes you inner world adventures so great?" he asked innocently. "Inner world? What do you mean by that?" Naga asked. "Well, you guys call my homeland the outer world. Meaning your world must be the inner world, right?". Naga was deep in thought "Well I guess if you put it that way…" she said. "Anyway" Eruk continued "I understand how you magic users can take on a whole bandit gang on your own, but without any magic you need and army to fight these guys". Naga padded him on the back "well then it's time for your first lesson in true treasure hunting". With those words Naga ran out of the bushes "VU VRIMER!" She shouted. 

The earth started shaking as huge lumps of earth and rock started gathering in one place. A huge golem started raising from the ground. Eruk stared in disbelief. He had never seen anything like this before. As the golem continued to grow, he realized that this wasn't just a huge lump of rock. The crazy woman had actually made a huge copy of herself. "That figures" he said before charging out. "Miss Naga, I expect you to cover my back, ok?" he shouted as he ran past her. 

Before the bandits even knew what hit them, the golem started to break down the wooden wall. "Now golem, disintegrate" Naga shouted. On her command the huge creature started to crumble, burying a lot of the bandits under a solid layer of mud. A single tear rolled down Nagas cheek "such waste of beauty" she sniffed as the last parts of her golem collapsed "OHOHOHOHOHOHO". Her infamous laugh made more of the bandit turn tail a run away. A few of the bandits actually had the guts to come out a face their attackers. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Eruk. His hands were burning with the energy of his converted flare arrow "So, who wants to go first?" he asked. One of the bandit swallowed hard "yo…you are Damien Shadowheart, aren't you?" he asked while backing away. 

__

Damien Shadowheart? Even though he had never heard that name before, it felt like he ought to know it. He closed his eyes and tried to remember. "Yes I'm him, what of it?" he growled as he walked forward. Even though he couldn't put a face to the name, he quickly noticed how the bandits reacted to it and decided to use it to his advantage. Even more of the bandit turned tail and ran away, obviously they didn't want to mess with a legend like him. 

"So you actually want to try your luck?" he teased one of the few remaining bandits. The bandit was rather young and obviously very inexperienced. He drew his sword and ran forward. Eruk merely took a step to the left, and with one stroke he disarmed his opponent. He could easily have killed him, but for now he needed answers. After that, it only took one blow to the head, and the bandit was out cold. Meanwhile Naga had taken care of most of the remaining bandits and was now helping herself to some of their loot. 

"What's up with the bandit?" she asked. Eruk had been dragging the unconscious boy after him. "I know it sound weird miss Naga, but he might know something useful" he explained. "Whatever you say, sidekick" Naga rolled her eyes and went back to the treasure.

Eruk casually emptied a bucket of water over the bandits head. "What? Where am I?" he asked as he slowly woke up. From what he could see, they were inside one of the tents that was normally used as sleeping quarters. His eyes fell on Eruk, and he went silent. "So finally awake, are you?" he asked with a smirk. The bandit shook his head, the only part of his body that weren't tied up "What do you want with me?" he asked fearfully. Eruk crouched down in front of him "I want answers. If you can provide them, you might live to see another day". The bandit looked at him suspiciously "what kind of information?". 

Eruk smiled "Some of you called me Damien Shadowheart, what I wanna know is, who is that man?". The bandit turned away "We were beaten by a lousy look-alike?" he frowned "I ain't telling anything!". Eruk nodded " I was hoping that you would reconsider…". He picked up a dagger from the ground and started casually playing with it. The bandit was silent. Eruk sighed "I was hoping that I could avoid this, but if you want it the hard way…" He whistled loud and clear. "just call me if you should change your mind" he said before leaving the tent "and believe me, I would prefer to talk, if I was you". 

A few minutes after he had left the tent, another one entered. It was a woman. The tent was dimly light, but the bandit was able to make out some details about her. Naga was wearing her usual outfit, minus the cape. She had added a black mask and a mean looking whip she had found among the bandits weapons for a more dramatic effect. From her shoulder Nimph stared daggers at the bandit. She was wearing an outfit similar to Nagas. Eruk could only guess where she had gotten her hands on it, and he wasn't certain that he really wanted to know anyway. "OHOHOHOHOH! So you are the next victim of the great Naga" She laughed, while cracking her whip maniacally. 

Outside the tent Eruk was counting down on his fingers _five four three two one and_ "Mr.! Mr.! I'm telling everything!" the bandit shouted "just get her away from me!". Eruk were smiling innocently as he entered the tent again, but Naga actually looked a bit disappointed that she didn't get the chance to perform her part to end. "Miss Naga, why don't you go collect some more treasure" Eruk suggested as the raven haired sorceress left the tent. 

"So you want to talk now?" Eruk asked conversationally. "What was that?" the bandit asked, seemingly out of his mind with fear. Eruk shrugged "oh that. It was my partner Naga, and the little one is named Nimph. Now on to my questions". The bandit nodded nervously while his eyes darted back and forth. "Damien Shadowheart. Who is he?" Eruk asked. The bandit swallowed hard "They say he was the best goddamn assassin in the whole wide world". Eruk stood up and started walking around "you said he *was* the best?". The bandit nodded "He vanished about a year ago. Rumors has it that he was killed in some sort of magic experiment". Eruk stood with his eyes closed _About a year ago? Wasn't that when I woke up in the Sairaag forest? My returning memory… those two that keeps calling me a failure. It all adds up now. I must be Damien Shadowheart, or at least I have some connection._

His thoughts were interrupted as the bandit started moving nervously "Uh mister is something wrong? You seemed so distant". Eruk shook his head "you? Nervous about me?". The bandit nodded eagerly "Between you and that crazy woman, I'll pick you any day!". Eruk suddenly threw the dagger towards the tied up bandit. The rope fell down and landed on the ground. "What did you do?" he asked. Eruk shrugged "you said it yourself, I am supposed to be the best. If I couldn't hit the ropes, that would just prove that I was not the one I thought. I guess, I really am Damien Shadowheart". 

The bandit looked at him with fear in his eyes "You mean, it was a gamble? You didn't know if you could do it?". Eruk nodded "Yes it was. Now if you can tell me one more thing, I'll let you go". The bandit stood up "What do you mean?". Eruk faced him "I need to know where exactly I vanished".

"So you are back now master?" Nimph asked "What happened to the bandit?". He sat down by the campfire "I let him go". Naga stopped counting her loot "What? you let him go? But he was a bandit!". Nimph landed on his shoulder "Miss Naga is right! Why would you let an evil person like that go?" she asked. Naga stood up "never mind that. More importantly, did you find out anything about the treasure?". 

He sighed deeply "There is no treasure miss Naga" he admitted. Her eyes went wide with surprise "No treasure?" she asked. "That's one way of putting it" he admitted "I am the only one who can benefit from the treasure in Xen". Naga was towering above him "What do you mean?". Eruk took a deep breath "The treasure is knowledge miss Naga! You know that I have amnesia. To me everything connects to that town. I need to know the truth!". The two girls were silent for a while. "What a beautiful story" Naga finally whispered. 

"Nimph, the two of us is a team now. I know, I can count on your aid. How about you Miss Naga?" He turned to his *employer*. The tall sorceress seemed undecided, finally she gave a small nod "I know that you'll be helpless without me around. I'll help you, but all the treasure we might find is mine". He smiled back to her "Thank you, miss Naga. I really appreciate that". He stood up and walked around. _Not much to do here _he thought. 

He turned to look at his companions. Things had gone so fast over the last few days. Nimph was flying around, wrapped in a handkerchief made of silk. He could see that he was still wearing her Naga look-a-like costume underneath. It was only a few weeks ago that he had considered her an enemy, and an annoying pest. Now she was one of his closest friends, and invaluable to him because of her special abilities. She could still be quite annoying, but he was getting used to it by now. A small part of him even hoped that she would stick around after everything was over. 

He looked a little to the left. Naga was busy gathering the most valuable of the bandits treasure together. Mostly everything about her was still a mystery to him. She was a mercenary. All he had to do to earn her favor was to offer her some money. But still there was something that bothered him, because of his special powers he could feel a sadness that radiated from her. She was pretty good at hiding it though, any normal human would never suspect anything. She had promised to help, and he was sure that she would follow him on his quest. He just needed to make sure that she kept believing that she was in charge. 

"Hey what are you doing sidekick?" Naga shouted, making him snap out of his thoughts. He walked back to the girls "I wasn't doing anything. Just thinking that maybe it was time to get moving?". Naga stood up, "an excellent suggestion sidekick. I hear that there should be a town nearby with a hot spring". Eruk picked up his cape from the ground and put it on "I guess I cant deny you a break after taking care of most of the bandits". He started walking "Well, let's get going then". Naga picked up her back of treasure and followed. "Master?" Nimph asked after settling down on his shoulder "I'm really tired, how long until we reach that town?". He shot Naga a glance "She didn't say that did she? Well there is always your pocket…". Nimph sighed "I guess so". She flew down and made herself comfortable in his pocket. "Oh Nimph, one more thing" He said before she went to sleep "could you please change to your normal outfit? Miss Naga is great and all, but seeing two of her might give me nightmares". The fairy laughed heartily "oh fine! Whatever you say master. But I'm saving this outfit for summer!". Eruk shook his head, he just had to live with her. 

"There it is!" Naga announced. Eruk looked in the direction she was pointing. In the distance he could see several lights. "Let's hurry then" he suggested "It's pretty late already". Both of them increased their speed. 

"Here it is!" Naga stopped in front of a pretty large building "We'd better get some rooms". They walked up to the innkeeper "Good evening sir" Eruk greeted the man. He got no response. From what he could tell, the innkeeper was pretty old. He was sitting in a chair, and closer inspection showed that he was sleeping. "Hey mister!" Naga gently poked his arm. The old mans eyes flew open "I wasn't sleeping!" he shouted. He looked around the room until his eyes fell on the two newcomers. "Oh customers" he exclaimed, and walked over to a large book "what can I do for you kids?". 

Naga stepped up to him "What do you think? We want a room of course!". The old geezer looked her over "What was that?" he asked "My ears aren't that good anymore". Eruk walked up next to Naga "We want a r o o m" he said the last word very slowly. "what do you think I am?" He asked "Deaf? Of course you want a room". He tossed Eruk a key "There, it's the last room available, so you can consider yourselves lucky". Eruk and Naga exchanged looks. None of them seemed too keen on shearing. "I guess we can't avoid it…" Eruk said "I didn't see any other inns, and we both need rest".

Eruk looked around in the room. _That damn old geezer! This is a honeymoon suite_. He was feeling a bit ill. All of the furniture, from the chairs to the heart shaped bed was pink. He felt glad that Naga already had left for the hot spring, that gave him time to straighten out their sleeping arrangements. Even though he had to admit that Naga was stunning, he didn't feel like sharing a bed with her. 

He walked around until something caught his eye. There was a pretty large window in one side of the room. He nodded, this would be the perfect place for him to sleep. The open night sky gave him more comfort that the sickeningly pink color of the rest of the room, and with a little effort he could set up a make shift curtain just like he had done a long time ago when sharing a room with Sylphiel. He started dragging some blankets over to the window, and prepared to settle in for the night. 

"Hey Nimph are you awake?" He gently poked his pocket. "What is it?" the fairy asked sleepily. "I think you should come out here" he snickered "This room would fit you perfectly!". A few moments passed. Judging from her movements he concluded that she was getting dressed. "What do you mean?" her head came into view from the pocket. In one instant she woke up "OH WOW!" she cried "this room is wonderful!". She started flying around at her top speed "Can I sleep in this bed? This is so cool!". 

Eruk laughed to himself "Told you that you would like it. And about sleeping in the bed, you have to ask miss Naga about that!". She stopped her flying around and sat down on the bed "Where are you staying, if you aren't sleeping in the bed?" she asked curiously. He dropped another blanket "right here", he gestured to the window. "But why master?" she stubborn continued "This bed is big enough for all of us!". Eruk blushed a bit "Nimph, I'm not sharing a bed with miss Naga" he told her "besides, this room is a bit much for me, I think I would feel uncomfortable even if I wasn't part mazuko". Nimph shook her head "humans! Sometimes I just don't understand you".

Authors notes:

Naga and Eruk? That's quite a team, isn't it?

I'm sorry if some of my younger readers took offence from the little *Naga, the bondage queen of darkness* stunt I pulled in this chapter. Her outfit (or lack of same) is just perfect for that part. But hey, if you can handle Naga as she is, this shouldn't be a problem at all. 

See ya next chapter.


	32. We got captured?

Disclaimer: Do I really HAVE to make one for each chapter?? Ok, ok! I don't own Slayers! 

We got captured?

How did that happen?

"Ready guys?" Lina asked as she stared at the army advancing in front of them. Damien whistled once, and the battle was on. "Fireball" Lina incinerated one of the chimeras with her magic. "Is that the best you can do?" she gloated. Damien simply pointed at the creature. Lina looked in surprise as the burnt creature stumbled back on his feet, seemingly unharmed. "These creatures were made to battle even the gods themselves" Damien shouted "Do you really think that your puny magic is of any use here?". 

Lina looked around, she had to admit that this looked bad. "Lina look over there" Zel shouted. A group of creatures was advancing on Taki and Filia. "Stay away from me!" Taki shouted and fired her guns at the advancing creatures. The bullets didn't have much of an effect. One of the creatures lashed out and hit her in the back of the head. Without a sound she feel to the ground. The creature picked her up and vanished. "What did you do to her?" Amelia demanded. "Don't you worry about that" Ascard told her "You'll see her soon". Another scream pierced the air, and Filia was gone. 

"Stay together guys" Lina shouted "we don't stand a chance if they get us separated". The rest of the group moved into a circle. 

"Xellos, can't you do anything about this!?" Zel shouted. The priest didn't need the encouragement. He pointed at one of the chimeras. A dark beam of energy shot from the tip of his finger. The beam hit dead on and the creature was incinerated. As the smoke cleared there was nothing left where the chimera was standing. "Alright Xellos!" Lina cheered "You go!". Damien had stopped smiling "You are pretty powerful aren't you? Looks like I'll have to take care of you myself!" With those word he vanished from sight. Seconds later Xellos' body was pierced by two curved daggers. He fell to his knees "How did you…?" for one there was fear to be traced in his voice. Damien appeared in the spot where he was before "You should have paid more attention" he smirked " I told you that I was infused with the power of Gaav. I'm more powerful that any of you can imagine!". 

Line looked over her shoulder at her fallen team mate "You ok there?" She asked. "I was careless again, wasn't I?" Xellos whispered "Should have taken care of him the moment we learned of his existence". One of the chimeras teleported up in front of Xellos. Before the priest could do anything, both of them vanished in a flash. "NO WAY!" Lina shouted "They got Xellos just like that?". The five remaining party members moved closer together. "At this rate they'll get all of us" Zelgadis whispered. "Can't you use your dragonslave Lina?" Gourry asked. The petite sorceress shook her head "If I do that, I'll end up blowing up this whole town!". 

"Mr. Gourry behind you!" Amelia shouted. Her warning came just a second to late. The blonde swordsman took a blow to the head and passed out. As it had happened before, he was picked up and transported away. It didn't take long before the same happened to Zel and Amelia. "What do we do now, Miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked, her voice shivered with fear. "You go the same way as your friends" Damien informed them. Both the girls looked at him in anger "Like hell we are" Lina spat. 

"You know" Damien said, looking deep in thought "you could just surrender". Lina only answered with a glare. "Maybe we should do as he says?" Sylphiel suggested. "A wise decision" Damien clapped his hands. With a scowl Lina nodded "I guess we have no choice at the moment". Two of the chimeras walked up to them and placed their hands on the girls shoulders. In a flash they were gone.

"Where are we?" Sylphiel asked. She was still feeling a bit dizzy from the astral travel. Lina looked around "looks like a mansion of some sort?". Ascard and Neela took The two girls through a maze of hallways, while Damien gave the army new orders. "I don't know what plans that crazy moron have by bringing you two here" Ascard grumbled. Lina was silent. "For once I agree with you" Neela said "That crazy bastard will end up throwing the entire world into chaos. And there is not a damn thing we can do about it!". Ascard nodded "I hope lord Loid knows what to do…" Sylphiel gently poked his shoulder " Excuse me? But who is this Loid you keep talking about?". Ascard shot her a glare "He is the one that made us the ones we are. He even made your wonderful little Eruk". Sylphiel gasped. "And never touch me again" Ascard added with a low growl.

Sylphiel shivered as they passed through a laboratory. Various creatures could be seen maturing inside the test tubes. "We're here" Ascard informed them. He opened a large door "Inside with you" he ordered "and no funny business". The room they entered was lit with countless candles. 

"So good to see you again, Lina Inverse" A voice could be heard from somewhere. Lina instantly paled "that voice… it can't be…". Sylphiel looked at her friend "what's wrong miss Lina? You look like you have seen a ghost". 

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, revealing an old man staring out of the window. "We meet again after all of these years" the old man laughed. He turned around "And you have a new sidekick, I see". The old man looked Sylphiel over "At least this one has a better sense of fashion". He walked forward. "Diol!" Lina growled "I thought they locked you up, and threw the key away!". Diol chuckled "they let me out early. Good behavior, and the fact that I didn't do anything THAT bad also helped". 

Sylphiel practically had to hold Lina back "Nothing bad!?" She cried "You made ten copy's of that… that insane… Greedy… stuck up…". Lina couldn't bring herself to mention her old travelling companions name. "You just had to show up and remind me of her!" Lina lunged forward to another attack, but again Sylphiel managed to hold her back. "I never knew you had another companion miss Lina" Sylphiel said, before letting go of the redhead. "Now don't you start with me too, Sylphiel" Lina sighed. This was just not going to be her day. "Well, if you feel that way about you old partner" Diol shouted "then you'll just love to meet my assistants!". 

He posed dramatically, just for the effect. "OHOHOHOHOHOHO" A terrible sound echoed down the empty hallways. "What was that?" Sylphiel looked around, this was starting to get way to scary for her taste. "No! not that!" Lina whispered "Give me slugs, give me my sister, anything but that!!". 

Ten persons dressed in long cloaks entered the room. If Lina had been pale before, she was now resembling a ghost. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?" Diol asked "Time to reveal yourselves girls!". Moving as one, the ten persons pulled their cloaks of and tossed them away. Sylphiel blushed deeply. The ten women in front of her was extremely scantly clad. She had never even imagined that anyone could walk around in public like that. As the first shock had passed she noticed that they all looked exactly the same. "Miss Lina, do you know them?" She asked. Lina slowly nodded "yes, I know her". 

It was difficult for Sylphiel to determine if Lina looked terrified or just plain angry. "It has to be a mixture of the two" she concluded. Lina raised her hands and prepared to deal with her problems the usual way, blowing them up. " I wouldn't do that if I were you" Diol smirked.

"It doesn't hurt to try" Lina shouted back "Flare…". A sharp bolt of pain shot through her body. 

"What happened miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. Lina carefully touched her forehead "Not again" she muttered. She brushed some of her hair aside. A metallic circlet could be seen underneath. "What is that thing on your head, miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. "Oh just a little something that will prevent her from using her magic" Diol snickered. "How did you…? When did…?" Lina was slowly recovering from the shock. "You shouldn't worry about that" Diol laughed "We have some unfinished business to take care off, just you and I". Lina swallowed hard "you don't mean…?". He pulled an old sheet of paper out of a pocket in his robe. "Haven't you given up on that idea yet!!?" Lina shouted. "What idea, miss Lina?" Sylphiel was starting to feel a little lost with everything going on. 

"Girls, why don't you take her down to her friends?" Diol pointed at Sylphiel. The Nagas nodded. Sylphiel backed away from them "Miss Lina?". Somehow she doubted that this would end pleasantly. "Please, I don't want to have trouble with you. So why don't you be a good girl, and follow peacefully" Diol suggested "I really don't want to hurt anyone".

"No, you just want to use peoples head in some twisted chimera design" Lina mumbled.

A couple of Nagas went up to Sylphiel to escort her out of the room. "Wait just a minute there, old man" A voice came from a dark corner of the room. The two Naga clones stopped walking and looked around to locate the unknown speaker. "Damien? What are you doing here?" Diol asked. He had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be disturbed.

"Oh I just came here for a little detail" He casually walked out in the light. "I just wanted to say that from this very moment, I taking charge of everything".

"What did you say?" Diol turned around to face his creation. "Come on, don't tell me you have gone deaf on me old man?" Damien smirked "I said, I'm taking over". Diol backed away, this was certainly unexpected. Damien walked up to the Naga clones " I already have the army, Ascard and Neela on my side. It's time for you girls to choose your destiny. Follow me and you'll live, and get rewarded. Refuse and die. Pretty simple, right?". The clones looked at each other nodded, and started laughing. "Good. I knew you had some reason" Damien tossed them a bag of gold coins "and there is more where that came from". He covered his ears "and there is a bonus if you'll just stop laughing" he added. The clones immediately went silent. Apparently they had inherited the original Naga's greed. 

"That only leaves you" He turned to Diol "I could use a talented sorcerer to make my army even more powerful". 

"What? Should I be working for you?" Diol spat "I created you! You are working for me!". Damien sighed "I was afraid you would say that". He snapped his fingers. Two of the chimeras from the army smashed through the door. "If you don't work for me, I don't need you around". 

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Diol shouted as he was dragged away. "You are turning on the man that gave you your power?" Sylphiel asked. She was afraid of this man. Even though he looked like the one she had come to know as Eruk, there wasn't a trace of compassion in his behavior. 

"Now to figure out what to do with the two of you" Damien looked like he was thinking, but somehow both Lina and Sylphiel had a feeling that it was only for show. "Are you going to kill us?" Sylphiel asked. "Am appealing thought, I must admit." Damien admitted "I'm sure you deaths would be quite entertaining, but I have no time at the moment". Lina pushed Sylphiel out of the way "are you saying that we are not important enough for you?" she shouted. "Miss Lina please don't provoke him" Sylphiel whispered. She was pretty sure that he would find the time to kill them both if Lina kept provoking him. And as things were, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Because of the circlet Lina was unable to use any of her spells, and Sylphiels limited knowledge of attack spells was equally useless. 

"At least tell us what has happened to our friends" Lina demanded. "Yes, I bet you must be anxious to see them" Damien said. He snapped his fingers twice "Neela, Ascard. Take these two to the other prisoners". 

Sylphiel was relieved that Lina decided to go without a fight. "So they are alive?" Sylphiel asked hopefully. "For the moment" Ascards answer was short and precise "Just look at this" he pointed to a strange metal tube. Curiously they looked through the small window on the tube. The inside was colored brightly pink and was filled with the prettiest flowers any of them had ever seen. In the middle of it all was Xellos. He seemed unconscious. "I was wondering how they managed to keep him under control" Lina wondered out loud. She made a mental note of trying that out herself, if they managed to get out of this mess alive. 

They were taken into another room. "Gourry…" Lina whispered. The blonde swordsman was sealed behind a magic field. A look around the room revealed that he was not the only one. All of their other friends was in similar fields. "I'm afraid that we are almost out of room" Ascard said and opened a metal door and pushed them inside a small cell. "Please don't bother trying to use magic" Ascard informed them "Both the door and the walls of this room are made of orihalcon. "What are you going to do now?" Sylphiel asked. Ascard looked a bit unsure for a moment, but quickly regained his composure "We are going to burn this town to the ground". Both the girls gasped "Why do something so horrible?" Sylphiel couldn't help but think of the destruction of Sairaag. Many innocent lives were lost that day. But it had been even worse for those left behind. "We can't let anyone interfere with our plans" Ascard answered without any emotion in his voice "All of humanity is going to die anyway. This town is just the first one to go". He closed the door. The sound of the key turning in the lock could be heard clearly inside. "Now what do we do, miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. The sorceress sighed " For once, I honestly don't know".

Authors notes:

Well, that was a surprise, wasn't it? Loid is really Diol! Did anyone guess? I did throw a lot of hints about his looks and his chimera making so, who knows… 

But as usual, if it was a complete surprise, then I did my job good enough.

I can't thank you enough for your reviews everyone. Sadly, this story is almost at an end (no, don't cry! There is still a few chapters left)

I hope you'll read on to the end.


	33. Almost there

Disclaimer: Slayers is not mine! It belongs to some Japanese guys with more money than me L 

Almost there

We got to do something

Eruks eyes shot open. Out in the distance an orange light illuminated the night sky. "That must be Xen…" he whispered. He could feel deep inside that something was happening. The air was filled with pain and despair. 

He stood up and pulled his shirt on. For a while he just looked out in the horizon. Somewhere inside him, he tried to find out if he was thrilled or disgusted. Despite his doubt about himself, there was one thing he was sure of. They had to get going as fast as possible. He pulled the curtain aside. His two companions were sleeping soundly in the bed. Naga was clutching a bottle of wine tightly, almost as if it was a stuffed animal of some kind. On top of the blanket Nimph was sleeping soundly. Suddenly Naga turned around in her sleep. To his amazement Nimph started flapping her wings and hovered above the bed until the sorceress was laying still again. He shook his head, the tiny creature just kept surprising him. How she could fly in her sleep was beyond him. But he figured that it would be of no use asking her, she probably didn't know herself. 

"Miss Naga!" He shook he gently. "Wha…?" She slowly opened her eyes. "We got to go now" He said. Naga turned away "Go'way wanna sleep…" she mumbled before she fell asleep again. He turned to look at the window again. Normally he would honor a lady's request. But Naga could hardly be considered a lady, and they really needed to hurry. He decided to wake Nimph up first. 

"Huh? Is it morning already?" Nimph asked. She sat up and rubbed her eyes "is something wrong?" she asked sleepily. "Yeah, I'm afraid there is" he replied, still looking out of the window. She flew up and sat on his shoulder "what is that light, master?". He looked at her sadly, "I'm afraid that it's Xen burning". She shook her head "do you really think so? That is just to sad". A tear formed in the corner of her eye_. _

"Now to wake up miss Naga" Eruk thought. He grabbed hold of her blanket and pulled with all his might. Naga instantly woke up "What do you think you are doing, you pervert!?" she shouted. "It was the easiest way to get you to wake up!" he argued. "Oh you say that, but somehow I doubt it" She stood up and started advancing on him "but again, I can't really blame you, can I?". Eruk backed away. Had it been any other woman in front of him, he would have been terribly embarrassed to look at her. But this was Naga, her nightgown, as skimpy as it was, actually covered more of her body than her usual outfit. "It's nothing like that" he tried to explain "look out the window, and you might understand".

She looked past him "Is that Xen burning?" she asked. Again he nodded "I think we should get going".

"Why are we waiting here master?" Nimph asked. They were standing in the hallway outside their room. "We are waiting here because miss Naga needs to change her cloths" he explained. Nimph titled her head to the left "why does that mean that we can't be inside?" she asked. "Well" Eruk blushed slightly "She is a woman, and I'm a man, it wouldn't be proper". Nimph nodded slowly "another human thing, right?" She asked. "Yes, another human thing" he agreed. Some time passed. "Can I ask another question?" Nimph asked. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered "what's a pervert?".

"This is awful" Eruk was looking out on the remains of the once proud city of Xen. It had taken them most of the night to get there. The fire had died out, but the smoke was still rising from the ruins. "Who could have done such a thing?" he asked in a low whisper. 

"Hey master, look!" Nimph pointed to a house a short distance away "Miss Naga found someone!". Eruk snapped out of his thoughts "A survivor?".

Naga walked towards the two "So you found anything?" she shouted. Eruk sighed "not really, how about you?", somehow he knew what was coming. "OHOHOHO of course, I found something" as usual her laughter sent a chill down his spine. "Take a look here" She moved aside. A little girl was standing behind her. Eruk figured that she was about 8 or 9 years old. The girls eyes darted all over the place. _"Poor thing"_ Eruk thought _"Probably one of very few survivors…"_. Suddenly she ran in behind Nagas cape, looking scared out of her mind. "What are you doing!!" the tall sorceress shouted. "It… it's him…" the girl pointed a shaky finger in Eruks direction. He looked around, confused "Huh? Me? What are you talking about?". The girl started crying "you killed everybody!!". 

Naga crouched down "what are you saying little girl?" she asked. "That creepy guy and his monsters burned the town and killed everybody" the girl sniffed. Slowly Naga turned her head "SIDEKICK" she shouted "What have you done?". Eruk pointed at himself "Me? I haven't done anything!". 

The girl continued crying "but you did! I saw you!". Naga looked at him with a frown on her face "I knew I couldn't trust you! You are really evil aren't you?" . Eruk backed away "look, I honestly don't know what you are talking about" he protested. "Did you really do it, master?" Nimph asked carefully. "Not you too" he sighed "I had hoped you at least would back me up". Suddenly his ears picked up a low noise behind the girls. None of them seemed to notice it though. He went pale when a strange creature came into sight behind them. It had been covered by a fallen building. He was unable to determine if it had been waiting in ambush, or if it was just a coincidence. "Sidekick" Naga shouted "It pains me to do this, but…" Her speech was cut of by the girl's screaming. 

Naga slowly turned around. In front of her was a creature she had never seen before. It kinda resembled a troll, but it was definitely something else. It held the girl in both hands above it's head "Naga, get down!" Eruk shouted. Heeding his warning, she fell to the ground, just as he passed her. He slashed away at the creature with all of his might. It howled in pain as it stomach was sliced open, and in the confusion it dropped the girl. Eruk jumped forward and caught her in mid air. "No, let me go!!!" she shouted. Eruk just held her tightly "complain later, we have to get away" he shouted. "What are you doing" Naga shouted, as he ran towards her. He sat the girl down "I want you too take care of her, I'm going to finish that thing of". 

He spun around and faced the approaching creature. There was no trace of the wound he had inflicted on it before. "A tough one, aren't you?" he smirked. He dodged a punch with ease. The thing wasn't very fast, but he had to keep telling himself to be careful. Judging from the sound it made when it hit the ground, it was tremendously strong. He ran in circles and tried to distract it with weak attacks. He noticed how the small wounds he made closed at once. _"So that's your game huh?" _he thought _"I guess I'll have to finish you with one blow". _He dodged another punch, spun around and struck it's leg. The creature lost it's balance for a moment. As he stroke the monster, he cast his own original spell, the flare fist. Split seconds before he hit, his hands exploded in flames. His claws sunk deeply into the body of his opponent. In the matter of seconds all that remained in front of him was a smoking pile of ash. 

Naga whistled in amazement "That was a pretty cool move there, sidekick". He was breathing heavily as he turned around. He dropped to one knee. "Are you ok, master?" Nimph was hovering above his head, with a concerned look on his face. "I'll be fine" he huffed "this kind of thing just wears me out". He turned his attention to the dark sorceress "I haven't done anything to this town". Naga nodded slowly. With some effort he stumbled to his feet "We have to get moving". He turned to the little girl " I know this might sound cruel, but you need to find your own way to safety". Naga gave him a hard glare "what was that? You want to leave her here?". 

He knelt down next to the girl "Listen girl" he said in a soft voice "I wish we could do something to help". She looked at him with teary eyes. "We are going to find the ones who did this and make them pay" He said through gritted teeth. He reached into his cape and pulled out the dagger he found at the bandit camp. He closed his eyes and whispered a few words. The weapon started glowing white. The little girls eyes was the size of saucers as he handed her the weapon. "Don't worry I have put a magic spell on this dagger. It will protect you until you reach a village" he explained "just go that way, and you'll be safe" He pointed in the direction of the town he had just left. She took the dagger and nodded. Slowly she turned and started walking. "Are you sure she'll be ok master?" Nimph asked. He followed the girls fading form with his eyes "I hope so" he whispered. 

"Where did you learn that kind of magic anyway?" Naga asked as the looked through the ruins. "Sylphiel taught me the flare arrow a long time ago…" he explained absentminded. "There was that name again" the sorceress smirked "but never mind that, what about that protection spell?" He smiled a little "that was just a light spell. I just tried to give her some courage". Naga padded him on the shoulder " Pretty sneaky, aren't you?".

"Master, look over there" Nimph pointed at a huge mansion. Even though it was right in the middle of the destruction, it didn't seem like it was hurt in any way. "You are right" he agreed "that is pretty suspicious". The fairy shook her head "That's not what I mean! I've been here before!". Eruk stopped walking "you've what??" he asked. "This is where I used to live!" she exclaimed happily.

"Sidekick, would you mind telling me what's going on here?" Naga asked, as she clutched to the small window frame.

"Isn't it obvious?" he answered "we're breaking in". He was carefully working the glass out of the frame with his blades. "Aren't that against the law?" Naga asked with a frown. He sighed, Naga could be almost as violent as Lina, and at the same time she was worried about breaking the law. He just couldn't understand her. "Look maybe breaking in is against the law, but so is destroying cities" he countered. Naga nodded "good point, sidekick".

"I can't believe this" Naga growled "There is nothing of value here at all". The tall sorceress was busy rummaging through various drawers. Eruk looked around, it seemed they had entered some kind of store room. "Nimph?" he asked "could you tell me where we are?". He opened the door a little bit and she peeked outside. "Nope, sorry" she shook her head "I've never been in this part of the house before". He turned to his partner "Miss Naga? I'm gonna go look around, ok?". The sorceress waved him off without a sound. He chuckled under his breath, it would seem that she had found some kind of trinket after all. 

He walked through the empty hallways. Even though it seemed like nobody had been around for a while, he kept to the shadows. The last thing he needed, was being found out by whoever lived in the mansion. A flicker of light caught his attention. Carefully he approached the light hallway. Several torches were hanging along the walls. It was obvious that someone frequently used the rooms here. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the first door he met. The door made a low sound as it opened. He held his breath. If something was inside, it would be aware of him now.

Much as he had feared his keen senses warned him of movement inside. He took a deep breath before he jumped into the room. He landed in a crouching stance, ready to fight anyone. To his surprise the room actually proved to be quite empty. He smiled to himself, in a corner of the room he saw a cage with a small bird inside. _"So that was what I heard?" _the thought as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I whish you would stop rolling around on the floor like that!" Nimph yelled from inside his pocket "All of my pictures are falling down from their shelves!". For a while the only sound to be heard in the room was the bird singing. "Hello! I'm talking to you here!" Nimph's head popped out of the pocket. "I know, but I think I'll stand in stunned silence a while longer" he replied dryly. He had known for a while that she had tried to get comfortable with living in his pocket, but this was starting to get ridiculous. He got out of his shock like state of mind, and started searching the room. If there was a bird living in a cage, then there was bound to be people using this place too. 

He jumped up as the door swung open, but soon relaxed. "Miss Naga, would you please try to be more silent" he scolded. Naga was staring at him in disbelief. He shrugged "well, it looks like nobody is here anyway…". He wanted to say more but fell silent. Another Naga was standing behind the first. Then another joined, and another. He backed away, this was just so very wrong. He watched as more and more clones entered the room. He estimated that there was ten of them. _"Oh Ceiphied, not that…"_ he thought, as the ten clones started laughing. He covered his ears in a futile attempt to keep the awful noise out of his head. _To much, can't take it anymore _he thought as he slumped to the floor. 

"What's going on here?" A loud voice cut through the laughter. Eruk raised his head, yet another Naga had appeared. From her attitude he guessed that this was the real Naga. The ten clones fell silent. "It's… it's the one" one of the clones pointed her finger in Naga's direction. "OHOHOHOHO, of course I'm the one" the raven haired sorceress exclaimed. "So cool!!" the clones whispered in awe. "I wish, I could be like that…", "how does she do it?" the clones were busy chatting among themselves. Eruk spent the time trying to recover from the sonic attack _I should have known that the only one miss Naga would respect, is miss Naga_. 

"So what are you visions of beauty up to?" Naga asked casually. Apparently seeing ten clones of herself didn't even faze her. "It's been terrible!" one of the clones explained "Some weird guy, that looks like that one over there, is trying to take over the world". Naga shook her head "I really thought I had taught you girls better than that. Didn't I tell you never to hire out to the forces of darkness, unless the forces of darkness paid an outstanding amount of gold?". Eruk groaned at that statement, but somehow he had expected her to say something like that. "But what about you, oh great one?" another clone asked with big starry eyes "why are you here, and where is that small breasted sidekick of yours?". Naga looked deep in thought "Oh that sidekick!! I ditched her long ago, she was just so useless. Now I'm helping that guy" she pointed at Eruk, who quivered in a corner. Seeing eleven Nagas was just too much. 

He carefully stood up, "you mean, you've seen those ten before?" he asked. "Of curse I have" Naga laughed "A brilliant old man made them some years ago. They traveled with me for a while and I taught them everything". Eruk got an idea "do they know their way around this complex then?" he asked hopefully. The clones nodded in response.

"I must admit that was a great idea, sidekick" Naga whispered, as they followed the ten clones down into an underground lab. "And this is where we keep the specimens" one of the Nagas explained proudly. Eruk had given up trying to tell them apart. He was pretty sure about who was the real one though. She just had a certain aura that the others didn't. He looked around in the giant lab. Suddenly he stopped moving. Inside several of the test tubes he saw most of his friends. "Something wrong sidekick?" Naga asked. He pointed "The people inside those tubes… ". The clones beamed with pride "they are the latest ones that was brought in, most of them are pretty powerful for mere humans". Eruk shot them an angry glare "and they are my friends!" he snapped. "That mazuko as well?" one of them asked carefully. "Mazuko? You don't mean Xellos do you?", he was amazed that anyone could even touch the trickster priest, let alone capture him. 

He went closer to the tube that held his friends. Upon closer inspection they seemed like they were in some kind of magical sleep. He stood in front of the tube that contained Zelgadis. "What are you going to do?" Naga asked. He readied his weapons "I'm busting them out". He took a deep breath, maybe just breaking the machines was stupid, but he didn't have time for anything else. He figured that it would be wisest to free Zelgadis first. He was most likely the strongest among them, and therefore the one with the greatest chance of survival if something went wrong. _Here goes nothing, _he thought before he made his attack. 

The glass splintered, and the unconscious chimera fell out on the floor. He placed his hand over Zel's mouth "Miss Naga he's breathing. Don't you have spell that can wake him up?". Naga pushed him away "let me take a look". She carefully studied the man in front of her "That's some golem" she whispered in awe. "Miss Naga, please!" Eruk hurried her. "Ok ok, I was just admiring a brilliant piece of engineering" she pouted. She raised her hands "Detoxify!". The healing energies was flowing through his body, and after a few seconds he slowly opened his eyes. 

"Where am I?" he asked, clearly still dazed. "Oh, it even talks too!" Naga was thrilled. Zel struggled to get on his feet "who are you?" he asked, while keeping his eyes firmly on Naga. "She's a friend, Zel" Eruk tried to explain. Zel spun around "you!". He reached for his sword, but found that it had been removed. "Whoa, easy there Zel" Eruk backed away "It's me, Eruk, remember?". Zel anger gradually faded "Eruk?" he asked "I thought you were dead…". 

Eruk smiled bitterly "no, but it was close… Nevermind that though, how do you feel Zel?". The chimera shook his head a few times "I'll live". Eruk nodded "Then I guess it'll be ok to help the others". Naga stepped up to him "Then what are you waiting for sidekick, get to it" she ordered. Zel almost choked when he got a closer look at Eruks new companion. Blushing slightly he turned his gaze away from the scantly clad woman. "Zel, you free Gourry, I'll free Taki and Filia, Naga you help Amelia" Eruk ordered. Zel nodded and got to work. 

"Amelia?" Naga asked. Inside the container in front of her was a girl that what strangely familiar to her "Sis, is that you?" she whispered. She hesitated, it had been so long since she left her family behind. Would she even recognize her?. "Hey Naga, what are you doing over there?" Eruk shouted. Naga nodded "Right, this is not the time to dwell on the past" she assured herself. She drew her sword and smashed the glass container. The girl inside was flushed out on the floor. "Here goes nothing" Naga whispered before she put her hands on the sleeping girls chest "detoxify!". A jolt shot through the young girls body, but she remained unconscious. Naga smiled as she picked Amelia up. It would seem that she had gotten a bad wound in the back of her head. 

"Eruk, what are you doing here?" Taki asked, she sat on the floor and looked around in confusion "Where is *here* anyway?". Eruk sat down next to her "I wish I had the time to explain". Taki nodded "I know, Miss Lina, and miss Sylphiel, you wanna find them right?". Eruk said nothing, but she knew that he was thinking the same thing. "So sidekick, what's the plan now?" Naga asked, she was still carrying the unconscious Amelia. Eruk looked the group over. Taki and Filia was supporting each other, Amelia was safely in Nagas arms. Even Zelgadis struggled to stay standing. There was no was he could risk taking them with him. 

"Naga, I'm afraid this is where we say goodbye" he said solemnly. "What? Naga shot him an angry glare "What do you mean *goodbye*?". Eruk gestured to the rest of the group "look at them" he said. "There is no way they could last in here. I want you to lead them outside". 

Eruk looked as the rest of the group left with Naga and her posse of clones in the lead. "Hey Zel?" Eruk held the chimera back "I need to ask you a favor".

__

"Now, to find the rest of them" Eruk wandered through the lab, when he heard someone scream in agony. "What was that, master" Nimph asked sleepily. "It's about time you woke up, lazy creature" he scolded her with a smile. "I need my beauty sleep, you know" Nimph defended herself. "Just kidding" she added with a sly smile. Despite the situation, Eruk was laughing to himself "What's down this corridor?" he asked. Nimph looked in the direction he was pointing "Oh that's where the keep the mazukos they bring in" she said with a shrug "terrible unsociable creatures if you ask me". Eruk ignored her babbling about how terrible mean the mazukos could be. 

"You are not going down there, are you master?" She asked frightfully. He nodded in response "I just have a weird feeling, that's all". At first glance the room held noting of interest to him, but then a strange looking device caught his eye. He looked inside through a small window. A smile spread across his face, inside was a very weak looking Xellos. "Hey, that's that mean old priest, isn't it?" Nimph shouted. 

Eruk nodded, a wicked gleam in his eyes. From his weakened state Xellos looked up at the tine window. "Help me…" He whispered. Eruks smile grew "I might, but I have conditions…". Xellos only nodded, he could easily guess what the conditions were. Eruk took a step back. He channeled all of his energy through his weapons, before he slashed the device open. He went inside and dragged the priest out. "I owe you one" Xellos mumbled, before he vanished into the astral plane to regain his strength. "Just leave me alone from now on, and we're even" He said, somehow aware that Xellos could still easily hear him.

Authors notes:

WOHOO!! 50 reviews!!! I'm so happy!!! Thanks a bunch to everyone who have reviewed!

Glad that you like my little story (well, can't call it *little* anymore, now can I?)

So almost everyone have been saved, except Lina and Sylphiel.

How will this end? Read on and find out, please!


	34. A huge mansion

Disclaimer: Seeing that I can't afford to buy the concept "the Slayers", it still don't belong to me.

A huge mansion

Where are we going?

"How do you feel, Sylphiel? You holding up ok?" Lina asked. They had spent several hours inside their prison. The shrinemaiden had always been at bit delicate, and Lina was starting to worry about her. She had been starring out in the empty air for a long time now. "Oh I'm fine miss Lina" Sylphiel snapped out of her silence " I was just meditating, Eruk taught me…." Her voice trailed of. Lina swallowed hard, she could see where this was going. "Hey, it's ok" Lina assured her friend "I'm sure that he is just fine". Sylphiel shook her head "I don't know, miss Lina, I just don't know".

Lina put her arm around the shrinemaiden "Trust me on this one, it takes a lot more that a crumbled building to stop that guy". Sylphiel said nothing. "besides isn't him and that Damien guy the same?" Lina droned on "And you've seen how powerful he is". Sylphiel sighed "I guess so…". They were interrupted by a knock on the door "Hey, keep it down in there" Ascard shouted "It's bad enough that I have to stand guard here like some mindless drone. I don't want to hear you drowning each other in sympathy as well". 

Lina stood up and walked over to the door "oh yeah? I'd like to see you come in here and say that strait to my face!" She shouted "If we want to drown in sympathy, then we will!". 

Sylphiel couldn't help but smile at her friends behavior. Even though she was powerless, she still had such fighting spirit. It was no wonder that she had always secretly admired the redheads fierce determination. No matter how bad the odds were, she never gave up hope. 

"Miss Lina it's no use. We have to save our strength" Sylphiel said. Much to her surprise Lina actually listened to reason. "I'm just so hungry!" she complained. Had it been any other than Lina, Sylphiel would have been amazed that she could think of food at a time like this. Instead she started humming a tune she had learned long ago. Time passed. Sylphiel humming had gradually turned into a soft spoken song. 

"I never imagined that you could sing" Lina whispered. Sylphiel blushed a bit "I… I'm not that good. I just like to sing sometimes when I feel lonely". Lina sat down beside her "Are you kidding? You have a real talent there. How about another?". Sylphiel smiled shyly and started another song from her childhood.

Outside the small prison even Ascard and Neela listened to the song from inside. " I know I told them to be silent, but I actually don't want to interrupt" Ascard said to himself. Neela nodded in agreement. If you knew what kind of temper the bluehaired girl possessed, you wouldn't believe that this was the real Neela. She was sitting down with her back to the prison, eyes half closed. It had really been awhile since she had felt so peaceful. So both of them just relaxed, content with listening to the song from inside. 

"Hurry master, I'm sure this is the right way" Nimph flew in front of Eruk as he ran through the countless corridors and rooms in the mansion. "You have said that at least ten times by know" he sighed "Last times we ended up in a holding pen for werewolves". Nimph laughed nervously "Anyway, I'm sure it's right this time". She turned around a corner and vanished into yet another room.

Another group of people were at the same time running through another part of the mansion. "Would you mind telling me who you are, again?" Zelgadis asked the ravenhaired sorceress. "Why of course" Naga beamed with pride "I'm the great Naga, the white serpent. I'm sure you must have heard of me?". Behind them the clones were laughing their insane laugh. "Sorry, never heard of you" Zel shrugged. Naga almost fell over "What? You've never heard the exploits of the great white serpent and her useless sidekick Lina Inverse?". 

Simultaneous 3 people stopped running "Lina Inverse??" they shouted. "Uhh who's that?" Gourry also stopped running, and scratched his head. "For once I'm with you Gourry" Zel agreed "She can't be talking about OUR Lina". Taki and Filia quickly agreed. "Oh, so you have heard of us then?" Naga concluded. "Yes and no" Zel cut her of before she could initiate another of her ear-piercing laughs "I'm sure Lina never mentioned you around me". Again Filia and Taki agreed, and Gourry was still clueless about everything. 

"What? you know Lina?" Nagas mood was starting to get worse. Ever since Lina had vanished four years ago, she had been traveling alone. She spent the time convincing herself that she really didn't need a small breasted sidekick anyway. But as time passed she started hearing the rumors about a red haired sorceress. "Hey, look at that" she pointed forward "I see the exit".

"Nimph" Eruk growled as he dodged an attack from one of the overgrown chimera creatures he had fought outside in the ruins. He had surprised two of them by accident. He actually managed to hide before they knew he was there, but thank to Nimphs constant chatter, he was discovered. "The next time I say hide…" He slashed out at the creature "you don't ask why, and insist on doing it so everyone around can hear you". Nimph nodded nervously and hid herself behind a vase while Eruk was fighting. He was having more and more trouble dodging their attacks. It was like they were getting smarter all the time. At the same time he felt his rage build up inside. The unpleasantly familiar feeling of being taken over by another being started to creep into his mind. 

His attacks gained more power. The two creatures staggered back under his assault. He made another attack, almost unaware that he had charged his weapons with magic energy. With one swift strike, he cut the monster in half. Even it's enormous healing power could not do anything to save it. The other chimera looked with disgust at it's fallen comrade, almost as it was saying "you were weak". It picked up a chair and flung it in his direction. "Master, look out!" Nimph cried a warning. Eruk however didn't move at all. Just before the chair would have collided with his face, he vanished. 

"Master?" Nimph looked around in the room, hoping that he would show up. The seconds ticked by, but nothing happened. "Ummm Master?" Nimph squealed as the chimera started advancing on her. "Ahh hi there" the fairy smiled broadly as the chimera picked her up. "You are not going to hurt me are you?" She tried her best to charm the giant creature, even though she feared the worst. The chimera started to close his hand, determined to crush the fairy little by little. "This actually hurts a bit" Nimph was starting to lose the smile on her face. Suddenly it stopped squeezing, and it's eyes widened. Slowly it loosened the grip around her and she managed wrestle herself free. The chimera fell to it's knees and slumped down on the floor. It was dead. Eruk stood behind it, ready to strike again if needed be. "Master!" Nimph flew up and punched his nose "Don't you ever do that again!". He took a few steps back "Don't bother me right now" he managed to say. 

"You having some kind of trouble?" she asked. It's wasn't the first time she saw him like that. As long as he used his natural abilities he was safe from the chaos inside him, but using the power he had gained as a chimera came at a prize. Whenever he used that power, it started to struggle for domains over his body. "Maybe I should…?" Nimph started to move towards him. "No, stay back!" He struggled to get away "I can do this on my own!". He curled up on the floor, muttering something to low to hear. 

A little time passed, and he seemed to be getting better. Nimph flew over and landed in front of him "How do you fell, Master?" she asked carefully. He raised his head slightly "I feel a bit better" he whispered " did I… Did I do it by myself?". The fairy nodded eagerly "but you cheated me of a meal, you know" she added with a smile.

He stood up and dusted himself off "I'll keep that in mind for the next time" he said with a tired smile. Even though it had taken a lot of his strength to recover on his own, he still managed to act somewhat normal. "Oh and you can even smile at a time like this?" Nimph was flying all around the room. In other words just being her normal self. For some reason it didn't matter at all to her that she was almost squashed a few minutes ago. 

"Master, it's that way, I'm sure of it!" She grabbed a little lock of his hair and dragged him down yet another not so promising corridor. Sighing heavily, he let himself get dragged along. He figured that they had been almost all over the mansion by now, and sometime she was bound to get it right.

"Nimph, hold a minute" Eruk slumped down on a chair "I have to ask you something". Nimph landed on his legs and looked up at his face. "What is it?" she asked. He cleared his troath "Look Nimph, we have been wandering around here for Ceiphied knows how long. Do you know you way around this crazy mansion or not?". Nimph didn't say anything for awhile then looked away, blushing a little bit "I only know of the basement, but I don't wanna go there, it's creepy".

Eruk shook his head "You mean you have dragged me all around for nothing". She turned away from him "y…yeah? Are you mad at me now?". He could tell by her voice that she was on the brink of tears. His expression softened. She had been around for a while now, and even though he had tried to convince himself otherwise, he had grown attached to her. "Look, don't worry about it" he held out his hand "At least we have made so much trouble that the others could escape". She looked at him with big teary eyes "You really mean that?" she sniffed. "Of course" He smiled "why don't you climb aboard, and show me the way to that basement, huh?" She jumped up in his hand "I don't like that place one bit" she scowled, bit a few seconds later her face brightened "but since it's for you master, I'll do it". He lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder "Let's go, partner". Nimph nodded "Right!".

"And then you go into that room!" Nimph was doing her best to guide him to the basement. It actually went a lot better this time. Maybe it had something to do with her having an actual destination this time. "There is nothing in here?" he asked as he looked around. Much to his dismay he looked at the birdcage in the corner. This was the same room where he had met the Naga clones. "I don't want to sound as if I don't trust you, but I've been here already" he carefully asked. Nimph took of from her place and flew over to a wall panel "Did you look in here too, master?" she asked happily. She pushed the panel. He watched in silence as she continued to try pushing the panel in. 

"Move you dumb thing!!" she shouted, and started kicking the defenseless piece of wall decoration. "Maybe you need a little help with that?" he suggested. "Not" *kick* "necessary" She shouted, her face had turned red with anger. While the fairy was occupied with the secret entrance, Eruk took the opportunity to search the room a bit more careful. The last time he was interrupted by the Naga clones, and he didn't really have time to find out anything. "Stupid magic door!!" Nimph cried "Dragon Slave!". 

Eruk waited, but nothing happened. He figured that even if she was some kind of magic creature, she possessed no magic powers of her own, at least no powers like those of a human. While Nimph was shouting every possible spell she knew, something interesting caught his attention. "Hey Nimph, look over her" Eruk smiled as he opened the wall panel in front of him. 

"It's over there?" Nimph asked in amazement "how did you find it?". He pointed at the panel "look at the color. It has been painted separately from the rest of the room ". Nimph flew closer "I don't see anything master" she admitted. He let his finger trace the strokes the paintbrush had made "Look at those strokes, they are horizontal, while the rest are vertical. And to be honest, the paintjob is rather poor". Nimph sat down on his shoulder "Smart aleck" she mumbled. "Can't win every time Nimph" Eruk smiled a bit of her pouting, and crawled through the little doorway.

"See, this is why I hate being here" Nimph shuddered while Eruk was examining an operating table. "Sometimes master Loid would strap a creature to that table and…" Eruk slowly nodded. He realized that he too had been strapped down to a table much like this one. He decided that this was one memory that he hoped never would return to him. Suddenly his body tensed. "No, it can't be…" he whispered. "Yeah, you are right master. How could anyone do this to a living creature? I don't think…" 

"Nimph be silent!" Eruk cut her of "listen". The fairy fell silent. Even though she tried her best, she could only hear a distant sound. "What is it master?" she whispered. "It's singing" he told her "And just maybe… I think, I know that voice". Nimph tried harder to isolate the sound "I think it's coming from that way" She pointed down a dark corridor. Eruk nodded " I agree". Before he started walking, he shot the fairy a look "you know, this could be dangerous?" He asked. Nimph quickly caught his true meaning "I guess that means it's pocket time again?" she asked carefully, while giving him a sad look. "Look, think of it this way, it's only to keep you from getting hurt. I can't fight if I have to worry about your safety all the time". Nimph smiled widely "you are really that worried about me master?" she was beaming with joy. "Yes, at least something like that", he admitted. Nimph flew up to his face and planted a small kiss on his cheek before she settled in his pocket. "Let's go!" she shouted.

"Do you even know why we are standing guard here?" Neela growled. Even Sylphiels singing couldn't keep her calm long. Ascard shook his head "I haven't got a clue" he admitted "but I hope Shadowheart has some kind of plan with all of this". Neela leaned back on the wall "He's got a plan alright" she growled "he's planning on getting us all killed in some dumb war". Ascard joined her "I thought you loved battle?" he asked. "I like battle, yes" she spat "but starting a war with both the gods and mazukos? That's suicide!". Ascard sighed "I guess you are right, at least I know that I will go down fighting". Neela gave him a weird look "That's so typical of you men" Neela mumbled "Always thinking of dying a glorious death and all that macho crap…"

"Then why don't both of you just leave this place?" a voice interrupted their conversation. Both of them jumped up. "Who's there?" Ascard demanded. Eruk stepped out from the shadows. Ascard saw him and took a step back "Lord Shadowheart! I'm sorry m'lord". Neela pulled him to his feet "Get a hold of yourself you moron" she snapped "That's not lord Shadowheart, that's the failure!". Ascard raised his head and gave him a closer look "So it would seem" he nodded "how were you able to survive?". Eruk shrugged "Let's just say that I have a few tricks up my sleeve". 

Ascard chuckled a bit and drew his sword " I must admit that you are better than I ever imagined". He charged forward. Eruk readied himself for battle. He nimbly danced out of the way. "Why do you want to fight me?" he asked "I heard you before". Ascard spun around "Just shut up and fight!" he shouted. 

Lina instantly woke up from her trance like state. There was something going on outside. "Sylphiel listen!" she interrupted the shrine maidens quiet song. "What's the matter miss Lina? She asked carefully "you are not bothered by my song, are you?" Lina shook her head "No, of course not! But listen, I'm sure something is going on outside". Sylphiel stopped talking and pressed her ear against the door. "I think you are right miss Lina. But what is it?". Lina shrugged "How should I know? It sounds like someone is fighting. Could it be Gourry and the others?". 

Eruk dodged another attack "I'm offering you a chance here. Leave now and you'll live". Ascard took a step back "lord Shadowheart may be a bastard, but I'll follow his orders nevertheless". Eruk also took a step back "In that case, you'd better prepare yourself". Ascard nodded and smiled "I'm not the one that needs to be prepared". The two of them clashed together. Their weapons locked together and they stared each other in the eyes. Eruk was the first who broke the stalemate. With a swift movement he dropped to the floor and used his legs to swipe his opponent of his feet. Ascard fell to the floor. He struggled to get back up, but Eruk held him down. "I told you to just give up" he hissed and prepared himself to deliver the final blow. 

"Master don't!" Nimph flew from his pocket "you can't just kill him". Eruk hesitated, but didn't give up on his advantage. "Nimph? So that's were you have been?" Neela came up to them. Despite her personality, she was being unusually calm. The fairy turned to face her former mistress 

"Mistress Neela?" she swallowed hard. The two of them stared at each other for a while. "What are you doing here Nimph? It was Neela who broke the silence first. The fairy flew up on Eruks shoulder "I'm… I'm helping him to find his friends". She threw her hands around Eruk neck. He could feel Nimphs fear of the woman in front of her. 

Neela looked away for a second "are you happy?" She turned around with a small smile on her face. "y…yeah…" Nimph was caught by surprise. Neela wasn't usually like this. "Why do you help him? He's the enemy" Neelas voice was calm when she spoke. Nimph shook her head "no, he's a good guy! And I want to help him, no matter what". Neela moved closer "Even if it meant you would have to fight me?". Nimph silently kept hugging Eruks neck. 

"I see…" Neela turned to leave " I owe you a favor for taking care of Nimph, I'm leaving" she said as she passed him. Eruk stared after her in disbelief. Just before she reached the door she turned around "are you coming? Or are you gonna die like an idiot?". Eruk understood her meaning and released Ascard from his grip. The warrior stood up and looked after Neela. He was torn between his duty and his feelings. 

"Don't make me regret this" he growled and shot Eruk an angry look. He started following Neela. "Let's go find master Loid" he said. Neela nodded, and both of them vanished in a flash.

Eruk looked at the place where they had vanished "They weren't that bad after all" he said.

"What happened miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked "Everything just became silent". The redhead shrugged "how would I know? I can't see what's going on either". Before any of them could say more, they heard someone hitting the door. "Sylphiel, get away from there!" Lina ordered "I don't know who's out there, but they are trying to get inside". The ran up to the opposite wall, from there they could see that the door was about to give in to the massive attacks from outside.

"Ok, just hit it once more, and I think you've got it" Nimph were busy encouraging Eruk as he tried to break the door.

"I don't think that door is going to hold much longer miss Lina" Sylphiel had moved closer to Lina. Even though the sorceress were younger than herself, she often looked at Lina as some sort of older sister, someone who could protect her from anything. 

The door finally gave in to the attacks, and with a loud bang it fell. Both girls were hiding their faces with their capes to avoid the cloud of dust that flew their way. "You did it master!" Lina desperately tried to place the voice. Because of the dust, she still couldn't she who had destroyed the door. "Sylphiel, miss Lina? Are you in here?" A familiar voice called. "That voice! It's that guy!" Lina whispered. Before the smoke could clear away she jumped at the person who had just entered. Eruk fell to the floor, while an enraged Lina sat on his back and tried to strangle him. "How dare you lock me up in here?" She shouted "Did you really think that I would let you get away with that?". 

Eruk struggled to talk, but failed. Lina suddenly felt someone pull her hair. "Don't you dare hurt him, you big meanie!" Nimph shouted and pulled with all her might. "huh? A fairy" Lina looked at the tiny creature " I thought they only existed in the old legends?" The distraction Nimph provided was all Eruk needed. With a sudden movement he threw the sorceress off, and pinned her to the floor. "Miss Lina, it's me!" he shouted. Sylphiel came closer "Eruk dear? Is that you?". He let go of Lina and stood up "yeah, it is…" he smiled sheepishly "Sorry I took so long".

"I can't believe that it's really you!" Sylphiel cried and threw herself at him. He staggered back, a bit surprised. "Easy there…" He whispered. She hugged him tightly "I thought you were dead…". Tears had started running down her cheek. He returned the hug "Almost, but not quite" he admitted "It takes a lot more than that to get rid of me". Nimph was watching the two of them with a scowl on her face. She landed on Eruks head "You keep away from the master! She shouted, and tried to push Sylphiel away. "Nimph…" Eruk growled, trying to get rid of the fairy. But the moment was broken. "Nimph? Who is that?" Sylphiel asked in confusion. 

Before Eruk could answer, Nimph flew down in front of her "I'm Nimph" She sent Sylphiel an evil look "And who do you think you are? Hugging the master like that? Huh?". For a while she just stared at the fairy, but then grabbed her from midair. "A fairy? It's just soooo cute!". She hugged the tiny creature tightly "where did you find it?". Nimph struggled to break free from the hug "Excuse me? I'm NOT an *it*. And he did not find me anywhere, I'll have you know".

"Look, it's all well and good, but what I wanna know is, why are you here now?" Lina had finally regain her composure. "I thought you knew already, Miss Lina, I came to find out about myself. Finding you here was purely a coincidence" He said, he knew better than lying in front of the-enemy-of all-who-lives. Lina suddenly remembered something "The others! We have to go save the others!". Eruk held her back "I've done that already. If I'm not wrong, they should be outside now, waiting for you two".

"Well ain't that sweet? Let's see how far they get". They spun around. Damien was standing in the remains of the doorway looking them over casually. "Just try me buddy" Lina growled, and started to move forward. "Miss Lina, wait!" Eruk held her back "This is my battle". Lina spun around "Are you kidding me?" She shouted "Do you have any idea how powerful he is?". Eruk smiled a bitter smile "Of course, I do. We are the same person after all". He walked forward "Nimph?" he asked. The fairy flew up to him "yes, master?". He allowed her to land on his shoulder "I need you to guide them outside" he ordered. "But I don't like that girl…" Nimph pouted and pointed at Sylphiel. "But I do" Eruk gave her a hard look. "Sorry, master" Nimph whispered. 

He sighed "Listen Nimph" he whispered "It doesn't mean I like you less, just do this for me, ok? I'm counting on you!". Nimph nodded. "Lina, Sylphiel, Follow Nimph. She'll take you outside". Eruk took a step forward and blocked Damiens path. "But what about you?" Sylphiel asked. "I'll be fine" he assured her "just get out of here". Nimph started moving, just as she passed Eruk, Damien tossed a knife at her. Without any effort Eruk blocked it "I wouldn't try that" he hissed "you don't want to make me mad…". Nimph turned around in midair "Thank you, master!" she shouted. Quickly Lina and Sylphiel followed her. Just before Sylphiel reached the door to the ground level she turned around "Be careful Eruk dear" She shouted "I'll see you outside". He nodded, and followed her with his eyes. 

"That leaves only you and me" Damien readied himself for battle.

Authors notes:

Ohh a cliffhanger!! I guess It's quite obvious that the next chapter will be the battle between good and evil! Isn't it exiting? Will Eruk prevail against an enemy so much like himself? And will Lina and Sylphiel ever get outside with Nimph as their guide?

Almost at the end people. Keep reading ok?


	35. Light and darkness

Disclaimer: I only own my original characters, nothing more and nothing less.

Light and darkness

Demon or man?

"Do you even know where you are taking us" Lina shouted at their diminutive guide. "I think we should turn left here" Nimph was doing her best to guide the two girls outside. "Uh miss fairy, haven't we been here before?" Sylphiel asked. Lina stopped running "I agree. Sylphiel, from here on out, it's your show!" She shouted. Nimph also stopped "But the master told me to guide you outside…" she tried to argue. Sylphiel nodded, and found her wand. She placed it on the ground and chanted a spell. "Well?" Lina tapped her foot impatiently. The wand fell over. "It's that way" Sylphiel pointed down the way to the right. "Alright Sylphiel!" Lina cheered her on "You're the best!". The shrinemaiden blushed a bit "Thank you, miss Lina".

"You have to do better than that" Damien dodged another of Eruk's attacks. The two of them had been fighting ever since the girls left. Damien tossed a fireball. "I could say the same about you" Eruk's wristblades slashed the spell to shreds before it could do any damage. They kept moving in circles around each other. Even though Eruk had been involved in several battles by now, he knew that this was his biggest challenge so far. He could feel how the adrenaline was pumping through his system. He raised his blades, pure energy was emanating from them. He charged forward with incredible speed. Damien was taken by surprise, but managed to escape unhurt. He looked down at his torn shirt "Impressive. I don't understand why the idiots insisted on calling you a failure". 

Eruk backed away "Oh, I'm not the one who is a failure" he smirked "I contain the rage of the demon dragon king just fine, you on the other hand…". 

With a cry of rage Damien charged forward, and slashed at Eruk. His dagger drew a trail of blood as it went by Eruk's left arm "I'm not controlled by the rage, I coexist with it" Damien spun around and looked at him triumphantly . Eruk looked down on his wound "So it would seem…". He flexed his muscles. There was no serious damage, he could still use his arm just fine. For a few seconds he considered the option of letting his mazuko side take control of his body, but he decided against it. _I need my brain right now, not my strength_ he kept reminding himself to stick to his own plan, it couldn't be that long now.

"We have to go back!" Gourry shouted. He had realized that he had left Lina and Sylphiel behind. "Gourry, we can't" Zel did his best to hold the swordsman back. "And why is that, Zel?!" Gourry raised his voice "We can't leave Lina in there!". Zelgadis took a deep breath "We are not going to abandon neither Lina or Sylphiel". Gourry stopped his struggling "I might not be the smartest guy around Zel, but I don't see how our standing out here is helping Lina" there was a poorly hidden bitterness in his voice. "We are not leaving them. Eruk is still in there" Zel explained. "Yeah, if I know him right, there is no way he's going to just abandon Miss Sylphiel" Taki added. Gourry sat down "I'm not sure I follow you, but I'm willing to wait, at least for the moment". Zelgadis nodded "Don't worry Gourry, he has a plan". 

Zel turned around "Hey Filia, how's Amelia doing?" he asked. The dragon lowered her hands "I have just finished casting a healing spell, but she's still unconscious". Naga was still sitting by Amelia's side. "It's been so long" she whispered "you were just a little kid when I left home, and look at you now…" 

"Miss Naga what are you doing over there?" Taki called. Naga took a deep breath, very carefully she slipped a note into the young girls pocket. 

She stood up "Looks like my job here is done" she proclaimed. "What?" Taki shouted in disbelief "you are leaving now?". The raven haired sorceress nodded "I imagine that Lina Inverse is on her way by now, and I was never one for big teary reunions". The ten clones stood up and started following her. Just before she vanished in the shadows, she turned around "and you can tell my sidekick Eruk, that he can pay me what he owes the next time I see him". With that she turned around and disappeared into the shadows. "That Eruk…" Taki slowly shook her head "He sure knows how to pick up the most unusual company, doesn't he?". She looked around, and noticed how everybody was staring at her. "What?" she asked in an annoyed voice "I wasn't talking about me!". The silence continued. "Ohhh I've had it with you" she cried and walked out to the edge of their little camp. She sat down on some debris, sulking. Everybody else snickered, it was obvious that her anger wasn't real, but her outburst helped them relax. It was almost as if their problems were forgotten, at least for a few seconds. 

A few minutes passed. Suddenly Taki jumped up and ran back to the others "I heard something out there". Zel stood up "She's right, someone is coming". He drew his sword and prepared for the worst. "I still say you are going the wrong way!" Nimph shouted. "And I say this is the right way!" Lina shouted back. She had already decided that she really didn't like the tiny fairy, but because of the circlet on her head, she hadn't blasted her yet. "Hey Lina!" Gourry shouted "we're over here!". Lina stopped running "Gourry! Guys! Man, I'm I glad to see you!" The petite redhead threw herself at the blonde swordsman. A few seconds later he received a punch in the head "Why didn't you come to save me, you jellyfishbrain? Some protector you are!". 

Zelgadis put his sword away "I see you haven't taken any damage". Lina sent him a harsh glare "You weren't the one who had one of the accursed circlets put on your head" she pointed at the object around her head. Suddenly she felt a strong arm grabbing her from behind "oh no.." she whispered. "Don't move Lina" Gourry informed her before he tossed her into the air. "Not again" she whimpered. With one swift strike of his sword, the circlet fell to the ground, and just before Lina could hit the ground she was caught in his arms. "Wow" Taki was the first to put word to her feelings. She had seen plenty of bar fights in her life, and even though they were nothing compared to what she had seen with this group of people, the feat Gourry had just displayed, was one of the coolest things she had ever seen. Once again Gourry found himself kissing the ground. "I told you once before! Warn me before you pull a stunt like that!". She extended her hand "thanks". She helped him back up. 

"Hey Sylphiel, where is Eruk?" Taki asked "and what's that?" she pointed at Nimph. "He stayed behind" she whispered "he asked that fairy to guide us outside". 

"Be that as it may" Zelgadis spoke up "we have work to do". They all looked at him "What do you mean Zel?" Lina asked. "Just before we fled the mansion, Eruk asked me for a favor" Zelgadis stared at the mansion " He said that once we were safe, we should destroy that house, no matter if he was inside or not". Sylphiel looked at him in shock "Destroy it? But what about…?". He knelt down next to her "It is his decision, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had another trick up his sleeve". 

Sylphiel looked down "but shouldn't we at least give him some time to get out?". Lina nodded "I'll tell you what. You go see if you can do something for Amelia, while the rest of us try to figure out what kind of spell we should use. If he's not out by then, we have no choice but to do as he asked". Sylphiel nodded and moved over to help Filia with the princess. 

"Lina, what do we do?" Zelgadis asked "That Damien guy really seems to posses the power of the demon dragon king". Gourry looked at him with a blank look on his face "uhh dragon king? Who's that? I know I've heard the name before but…". Lina hit him over the head "Never mind that. What's more important, how do we kill him? The last time not even the Ragna blade was enough to stop him…" Zel nodded, a bitter look crossed his face "That only leaves, the Giga slave…". Taki looked around in confusion "The Giga slave? What's that?". An eerie silence fell over the group. "It's the most powerful spell known to man" Lina explained, her face was dead serious "If it should go out of control, it could destroy the entire universe, and literally return it to a sea of chaos". 

Taki swallowed deep "does such a spell exists?". Lina grave expression didn't change. "But can you really control such a spell?" Taki was starting to panic "Isn't there a safer method?". Zel looked away "It's seem like it's the only option…"

"Wait a minute there, Zel" Lina interrupted him "There may be another solution". Everyone turned their eyes in the same direction as Lina. Sylphiel looked away from Amelia "Why is everybody looking at me?" she asked nervously.

Eruk backed away, it was clear to him that his opponent was starting to gain the upper hand. While he tried to contain his rage, Damien used his powers to their fullest. He grimaced in pain as Damien's dagger connected with his body again. He had taken several hits, but none of them was to serious. For a brief second his thoughts went back to the time he spent with Gen in New Sairaag. Almost from the first day of his training, he was taught how to read his opponents and move away from the blow before it was made. During his travels he had tried his best to develop that skill, it was simply his way to make up for not wearing armor. He snapped out of his thoughts as Damien made another swing at him. "Got you again" he smirked. Eruk frowned, as Damien's dagger pierced his left leg. 

He dropped to his knees, he could feel how blood had started flowing down his leg. This wasn't just a little scratch, but a wound that could mean the difference between death or victory. Damien slowly advanced on him. "I had hoped that you had been more of a challenge" he looked down on his foe "it's not everyday to get to fight yourself after all". Slowly he raised his daggers above his head, ready to deliver the final blow. With all of his remaining strength, Eruk jumped up and planted his blades in Damien's stomach. The assassin looked down, a surprised look on his face. A smile crossed his face before he released the magical energy he had build up in his weapons. Damien was thrown back against a wall. It crumbled under the force, and buried Damiens body under the debris. 

Eruk fell over. He was completely drained. He looked down on his leg. Slowly he cut his pants open to examine the damage. He held his breath while he pulled the fabric away. The pain was almost unbearable. He was hit just below the knee, the dagger had gone directly through the bone. He swallowed hard, and started chanting a healing spell. He relaxed when the white light started to ease his pain. Even though he was drained from the battle he tried to focus more energy into the spell. He closed his eyes. He felt how his flesh started to react to the spell. A loud explosion followed by a sharp pain in his right shoulder caused his eyes to snap open. He stared down at his wounded shoulder in disbelief. 

One of Damien's daggers was plunged deeply into his flesh. "Never let your guard down!" Damien hissed. He was standing on top of the debris from the collapsed wall. Eruk could only stare as Damien moved closer. He could barely recognize his opponent. Damien's face was twisted in anger and pain. His body had grown, becoming a horribly deformed humanoid shape. Eruk backed away. This was what he had feared for so long. Damien had completely lost control of his powers. He was now nothing more than a shell filled with hatred." _I hope that this is the right moment…_" he thought as he reached into his cape. A weak smile crossed his face as his hand closed around a round object.

"NO! I won't do it, miss Lina!" Sylphiel shouted. She looked around. Everyone had gathered around her. "Look here Sylphiel" Lina tried to reason with the shrinemaiden "It's either this or the Giga slave". Sylphiel shook her head forcefully "I won't do it" she repeated "I won't use the dragon slave while he's still in there!". Tears was already running down her cheek. "Lina, are you sure about this?" Zelgadis asked. Lina shrugged "I think so. When we fought Hellmaster Phibrizzo, he told us himself that even he might not be able to withstand a double dragon slave attack". Sylphiel opened her mouth to say something, but no sound left her lips. "Miss Lina?" A voice interrupted them from behind. Everyone turned to look. Amelia was slowly raising herself to a sitting position. "Why are you and miss Sylphiel fighting?". Everyone looked at each other, none of them felt like telling the Seyruun princess of the plan, seeing as it definitely went against her code of justice. 

"Amelia listen carefully now…" Filia knelt down next to her and started explaining the plan. It just had to be done. Lina nodded, it probably was best if she knew the plan as well. "WHAT!?" Amelia shouted as Filia ended her explanation "you are going to do that? But Eruk…?". Zelgadis stood up "It was his own request. Wouldn't it be unjust not to honor it?". Amelia thought deeply for a moment, "I guess so…" she finally admitted.

They all jumped as an explosion rocked the ground. "Sylphiel, you must decide now!" Lina shouted. The shrinemaiden continued to stare at the ground without a sound. "I see…" Lina stood up "I had hoped that I could avoid this…"

She raised her hands and started chanting

__

"Darkness beyond blackest pitch

Deeper than the deepest night

Lord of darkness who shines like gold upon the sea of chaos…"

The nightmare energies started to gather in the sorceress's hands. "You can't!" Nimph shouted "you'll kill the master!". She had been sitting a little distance away. She had been torn between her on desire to go back inside and help Eruk and his orders about staying with Lina and Sylphiel. She had finally decided on following his orders, when everyone around her started talking of destroying the mansion. 

She flew over to Sylphiel "please stop her" she pleaded. "Sylphiel, listen to me" Zelgadis was sitting next to her "at first I must admit that I didn't think much of him. I mean, the guy couldn't even take care of a couple of bandits". Sylphiel turned to look at him "why are you telling me all this?" she asked. Zel took a deep breath "I'm telling you this because that guy has surprised me more than once. But honestly Sylphiel, if you believe he can survive a Giga slave, I'm afraid that you are hoping for the impossible". Sylphiel nodded slowly. "What I'm trying to say is, cast a dragon slave. I would be surprised if he don't has something planned." Having said his piece, Zelgadis stood up and walked up to Gourry.

Lina had almost finished the chant, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it miss Lina" Sylphiel whispered. Lina smiled a little, and let the energies fizzle. 

The two girls stood next to each other "Are you ready Sylphiel?" Lina asked "Do your best, I'm sure that's what he wants as well". Sylphiel took a deep breath while Lina cast her magic amplification spell. She had lost everything, her father, her home, even the survivors from the old Sairaag hated her. Now she was about to unleash her most powerful spell at the only one she had left. She exchanged one final look with Lina before they started chanting.

Eruk cried out in pain as he was thrown up against the wall. He could hear several bones breaking as he slumped to the floor. The taste of iron filled his mouth as he coughed up blood. "How foolish of you" The demonic Damien laughed "putting on a necklace that prevents you from using your magic". Eruk raised his head _Miss Lina, please hurry!_ His mind cried.

"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power that you and I posses.

DRAGON SLAVE!!!"

Both spells fired off at the same time, and flew as one towards the mansion. "Master, please be safe!" Nimph shouted just before they hit.

The explosion that followed was tremendous. Even the combined power of Zel, Filia and Amelia's protection barriers almost couldn't protect them from the power of the spell. They were thrown to the ground, but was relatively unharmed. Taki was holding a hand to her forehead. She had been hit by a falling piece of debris, and was bleeding slightly. But other than that, none of them had been hurt. "Is it bad?" Sylphiel asked. She had kept her eyes closed since she fired the spell. "I'm afraid it looks pretty bad" Lina admitted as the smoke cleared. The only thing left where the mansion had been, was a large crater. 

"Oh no…" Sylphiel whispered. "Master?" Nimph looked around, hoping to find some trace of him. "We won didn't we?" Gourry asked, there was no trace of happiness in his voice. Lina nodded "yeah, we won…".

Suddenly Nimph jumped up "Master!?" she cried, before she flew towards the ruins. "Hey fairy, where are you going?" Lina shouted. "I know he's out there somewhere" she shouted back "I can feel him!". One by one everyone started following the fairy. "Ok, spread out and look for him" Lina ordered, "even though I can't see how he could have survived that…" she added very quietly.

"Hey, over here!" Taki suddenly shouted. "Isn't that a piece of his cape?" she pointed down. Under a large piece of debris, a black piece of cloth could be seen. "Gourry, Zel you go over there, Filia you take the other side. Amelia, you help Taki, and Sylphiel you help me!" Lina was quickly ordering everyone in position. "Ready, and lift!". With their combined strength they managed to move the broken wall away. 

"Master!" Nimph squealed in delight. Eruk slowly opened his eyes. "Eruk dear!" Sylphiel shouted, and tried to hug him. He cried out in pain at the very moment she touched him. She quickly let go of him. "Sorry" he whispered while giving her a weak smile. "Man, you really are a mess" Lina looked him over "but I'm amazed that you survived…". Sylphiel bent down and started casting a recovery spell. "Are you ok, master?" Nimph landed next to him. Slowly he turned his head "I'm alive, but nothing more" he admitted. While Sylphiel started her healing spell, Lina waved the others away. "Let's give them some privacy" she said with a smug look on her face. 

Just as Eruk started to relaxed, another explosion rocked the area. From a pile of debris something large jumped out. "I haven't finished with you yet!" Damien shouted as he dragged himself forward. He was severely damaged from the dragon slave attack, but he was determined to get rid of Eruk, once and for all. "You, get away from him" He pointed at Sylphiel. "Do as he says" Eruk whispered. Sylphiel just closed her eyes, and continued with the spell. Damien started to run forward. On the way he picked up a large piece of wood. Eruk couldn't determine what it had been used for before the explosion, but what was more important was, that it had been broken, leaving one end sharp as a spear. He was heading directly for Sylphiel. 

"Look out" Lina shouted. Using the last reserve in his body, Eruk lifted himself up. His body made an obstacle that forced the spear to the side as it hit. Sylphiel slowly opened her eyes, Eruk was standing in front of her with the piece of wood impaled through his body. He stared into Damien's eyes "Don't you ever touch Sylphiel!" he growled. He drew both of his arms back, and then forward with all his might. Damien howled as the wristblades passed through his body. "Miss Lina finish him" Eruk gasped. With a nod Lina took a step forward.

__

Lord of the dreams that terrify

Sword of cold and darkness

Free yourself from the heavens bond

Become one with my power, one with my body

And let us walk the path of destruction together

Power that can smash even the soul of the gods

RAGNA BLADE!!!

The dark blade formed in the sorceress's hands. Just before she struck, Eruk pulled his arms away. Damien was left without any kind of defense as the spell struck. He cried a demonic scream one last time before his body was disintegrated. Eruk slowly pulled the piece of wood out of his stomach before the collapsed on the ground. 

Sylphiel looked at him with frightened eyes "no" she whispered. "Sylphiel! What are you waiting for?" Taki shouted "Heal him!". Sylphiel turned away from the others "I can't" she whispered "It's to late". Taki fell to the ground and started crying, as did Nimph. 

"There is one final option" Sylphiel jumped, someone was standing behind her. She turned her head "Mr. Xellos?". The Mazuko priest knelt down next to Sylphiel "Normally I wouldn't do this" he said, "But even I owes him a favor for helping me out back there". He looked at the shrinemaiden "Cast your healing spell" he ordered. The expression on his face left no room for arguments. As Sylphiel started her canting again, Xellos placed a hand on her shoulder. She held back a cry of surprise as several waves of black magic started flowing through her body. The blinding white light the healing spell created started flashing between white and black. Lina and the others held their breath as Eruk's body started healing little by little. "It's working?" Taki asked hopefully. "Looks that way" Lina watched the spell in amazement. She had never seen magic like this before, but it really seemed to work. 

Little by little his wounds was healing.. "What kind of magic is that?" Lina asked. "Even though we don't use it much, our race still has some healing spell, you know" Xellos removed his hand from Sylphiels shoulder "I have healed his astral body. Now the rest is up to the human". With those words Xellos vanished into the astral plane.

Authors notes:

The final battle everyone! Looks like they won. 

Will Eruk recover? The answer to that can only be found in the next, and last chapter of Slayers: Between light and darkness.

And to anyone who might wonder, yes I did make up that part about mazuko healing spells. I have no idea if that kind of spells exists or not. But I figure if anyone knows, Xellos does. But as usual, he ain't one to tell all of his secrets.


	36. Destiny

Disclaimer: Even though this is the last chapter, I still don't own Slayers.

Destiny

Last promise

__

Once again he found himself surrounded by darkness. This time was different than the last time however. This time he was aware of his surroundings. He was sure that he was floating since he could feel no ground below him. For some reason he found himself incredible calm. It was almost like his spirit was missing the usual rage. "Awake now, are you?" a voice came from behind. He spun around. A large man was standing inside a pillar of light. His long red hair hung loosely down his back. He had one hand in the pocket of his long trench-coat, while the other rested on the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?" Eruk whispered. Deep inside he felt that he ought to know this man, even though he felt certain that they had never met before. "Who am I?" the large man laughed "we are as one, and yet you do not know who I am?". He drew his sword an leaned it casually on his shoulder "I'm the very source of you power" he smirked. "I'm Gaav, the demon dragon king" he laughed. Eruk tried to back away from the mazuko, but found himself unable to move. "Give it up, human" Gaav laughed at his futile attempt to move "in this place none of us have any power". Eruk tensed "where exactly is this place?" he asked carefully. "This place" Gaav said, while walking forward "is your own soul". Even though Gaav was moving forward, the pillar of light followed him wherever he went. "Then let me ask you this" Eruk narrowed his eyes "what do you want?"

Little by little, the darkness faded away. Eruk found himself standing on a beautiful field. "What I want" Gaav said "is you". He looked around "This is the place you've been searching for all this time" he said "this is the place where you can have peace". Eruk looked around. This place really was peaceful. He had longed for such a place for so long now. A place where he didn't have to worry anymore, a place where he could bid farewell to his troubles. "Yes, it's really something, isn't it?" Gaav asked. Eruk was stunned to find that the demon dragon king was standing right next to him, but for some reason he didn't feel any fear.

"You could stay here forever, you know" Gaav told him "this will be your very own domain". Eruk swalloved hard "but what about….?" He was interrupted before he could even finish what he was about to say. "You are thinking about that woman, right?" Gaav smirked "you don't have to worry about her. She's right here". He pointed to the left. Eruk turned his head in the direction Gaav pointed. "Hello Eruk dear" Sylphiel greeted him warmly. She was sitting in the grass beneath a large tree. Eruk took a step forward "Sylphiel?" he asked. The shrinemaiden nodded slowly "It's me Eruk dear" she confirmed. He went over and knelt down in front of her "What are you doing here?" he whispered. She embraced him warmly and held him tight "I just wanted to be with you" she whispered back. He placed a hand on her head "what about miss Lina and the others?" he asked. "What about them?" Sylphiel asked back "we got each other don't we?"

"No!" Eruk pushed her away "the Sylphiel I know would never give up on friends like that" he shouted. In an instant the field was gone. All there was left was the never-ending darkness and Gaav. "You idiot!" Gaav hissed "turning your back to happiness like that!". Eruk stood up and faced him "Happiness at what price, lord Gaav?" He ask firmly. "We share the same body, don't we? If I were to remain here, you would be the one in control". Gaav raised his sword "What do you know about anything, human!" he roared. Eruk shrugged "Not much, I know. But I do know that if you gain control of a body again, all hell will break loose. If being tortured by you in my soul, is the price I'll pay to keep my friends save, then so be it!". The light around the demon dragon king started to fade. "You are a fool human" Gaav's voice echoed through the darkness "I offered you peace here and now. In time, your guilt of what you have been responsible for will consume you, leaving only me behind". Eruk stood for a while and thought about the mazukos words. "I know, I'm just a human" he whispered "but I'll manage somehow…". He stood up "My name is Eruk Shadowheart!" he shouted "I'm nothing but a failed experiment, but I will make my own way! Do you hear me, demon dragon king!?"

Eruk slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything but a white light. Blinking a few times he slowly regained his sight. He was lying in a soft bed. From the outside he could hear birds singing. Slowly he turned his head and gazed out of the window "I won" he whispered. After a few second he had to turn away, the sunlight was to strong for his eyes to handle. He turned away from the burning sun. 

A smile crossed his face. Next to him Nimph was snoring loudly. Her blue hair was spread all over her little pillow. For a brief second he wondered how she managed to get her hands on all the stuff she seemingly had, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't likely that she could give him an answer anyway. "Hey Nimph. Wake up" he tapped her chin very carefully. "G'way wanna sleep…" she mumbled "Wake up when master wakes…". She drifted of to sleep again. He decided to use a more direct approach. He took a glass of water that was placed on a table next to the bed. Very carefully he splashed a few drops over the sleeping fairy. "Wake up sleepyhead" he ordered. Nimph jumped up "Huh? Who? Where? What? Why is it raining?". She looked at the door "Ok, I know you are hiding out there. How dare you try to dump water on the master?". Eruk just couldn't help himself, he dumped the rest of the water out over her. "What the??" she spun around "Master?". 

Eruk had raised himself to a sitting position "Finally awake?" he asked innocently, and hid the glass. "You are all better!" she cried and threw himself at him. He grimaced in pain and collapsed on the bed. "Nimph be careful" he whispered. She let go of him "Sorry". He managed a smile "It's ok. You couldn't know, just be more careful. At least until I recover". The fairy nodded "So how do you feel anyway?" she asked. His smile faded "Like I've been to hell and back" he admitted. He looked down on his stomach. Despite the intense healing spells he had received, he now had a large scar on the entire mid section of his torso. "Oh, I didn't see that" Nimph pointed at his stomach "Looks painful". 

He nodded "It is, but never-mind that. Where are the others?". Nimph looked around "Others? What others?" she asked innocently. "Don't play games with me right now" he sighed "I know they are somewhere around, because you couldn't have carried me here on your own". She stood up and flexed her muscles, which honestly didn't make her look much stronger. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm strong as…as…a human!". He gave her a tired look. "They are downstairs, I think" She finally said. Eruk nodded "I better go see them then". He started getting dressed. It almost reminded him of the first time he woke up in Sylphiels house in New Sairaag. 

He sat down on the bed. So much had happened since then. "Master? Are you ok?" Nimph asked "you look a little spaced out there". He snapped out of his thoughts "Nothing's wrong, I was just thinking".

"How long has it been now?" Lina asked "Three days? Or is four?". Zelgadis put down his teacup "You mean since we got here? Five days actually". Lina looked around in the room. The inn itself was a nice enough place. Nothing out of the ordinary though, and it bored her. Normally she wouldn't even consider spending more than one night in a place like this, but Sylphiel had insisted that they stayed until Eruk woke up. "Amelia would you please stop hugging that piece of paper?" Lina scowled at the Seyruun princess "You've been reading it over and over a hundred times already, but you haven't told us anything about what's in it". Amelia raised her eyes from the paper "Sorry miss Lina, but it's private". Lina snatched the paper from her hands "private my ass. Now let's see…" 

Lina quickly read through the letter. "What is this anyway? *Sorry for abandoning you* signed Gracia?". A this point Zelgadis started to get interested "Gracia isn't that the name of your older sister, Amelia?" he asked. Amelia nodded "It is, but how did this note end up in my pocket?". Taki opened her mouth to say something. However, a harsh glare from Zelgadis made her shut up. Even though he tried his best to deny the truth, it was pretty clear to him that Gracia and that Naga woman was the same person. He figured that it would shatter Amelias illusion about her sister if she knew what kind of woman she had turned out to be. 

"Do you know anything, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked while staring at him with her big round eyes. "No, not really…" Zelgadis turned his attention back to his teacup, while trying to hid the blush that had spread over his face. "Aww look! He's blushing!" Lina pointed at the chimera. If nothing else, she could have some fun picking on Zel. 

"If you would excuse me…" Sylphiel stood up from her seat. "Don't tell me you are going back again so soon?" Lina held her back "You've been watching over him for 5 days now. You deserve a break!". Sylphiel sat back down, no matter her feelings, you didn't disobey Lina Inverse. Lina sat back with a satisfied look on her face "Good, we understand each other". The shrinemaiden went back to staring out the window.

"Say Sylphiel, can I ask you a question?" Lina had seated herself next so Sylphiel. "I was just wondering, how was he able to survive all that? If he's that powerful, who knows what else he can do?". Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at her. 

"I'm flattered, Miss Lina, but I can't take full credit" A voice came from the door. "Eruk dear! You are awake?" Sylphiel stood up. He was leaning against the doorframe. "Are you sure you should be moving master" Nimph asked. She was sitting at her usual spot at his shoulder. "Sylphiel…." Eruk took a step forward, something that caused him to fall over. "Eruk dear, careful" Sylphiel caught him before he could hit the floor. "Sorry, still a bit weak" he whispered. With a little help from Gourry he managed to sit down on a chair. 

"So you think you can tell us exactly what has happened?" Lina sat down at the seat across from him. "Well there isn't that much to tell…" He started. "Are you kidding me?" Lina cried "you just survived a fight with a really powerful copy of yourself, and a double dragon slave attack. And you are telling me that it was nothing?". Sylphiel placed a hand on her shoulder "You should at least let him answer" she scolded her lightly. "So it was a double dragon slave you used…" for a second he was lost in his thoughts. 

"I've never seen a spell like that before" Taki added "How did you survive it?". He gave the young waitress a warm smile "Actually I have you to thank for that Taki". Everybody stared at him in disbelief, Taki most of all. "It was the amulet you brought" He explained "I used it to shield myself from the spell". He only explained briefly what had happened during his fight, leaving out the details of the beating he had taken after sealing his magic. "Where is that thing now?" Taki asked. He shrugged "It shattered. Apparently it couldn't handle that level of attack". He finished his story, and leaned back in the chair. An empty look in his eyes. 

"Are you ok?" Filia asked "You look like you could drop any moment". Just as the words left her mouth, Eruk slumped down on the table.

Slowly he opened his eyes. He was back in his room. "Nimph?" He looked around for the fairy, knowing that she would never stray far from his side. "She's asleep over there" the voice almost made him jump in surprise. "Sylphiel? How long have you been here?". He had turned towards her, and was looking into her emerald eyes. She fiddled a bit with her hair. He had noticed how she did that when she was nervous. "Well…" She started " an hour, I think?". 

He looked over her shoulder. He could see the dark night sky through the window. "You really shouldn't lie" He told he carefully "It's been longer than that, hasn't it?". She nodded slowly, but said nothing. He tried to sit up, but failed. His face grimaced in pain. Slowly Sylphiel reached out to him, her hand was glowing. He closed his eyes and felt how the healing energies started flowing through his body. "Just like when we first met" He whispered. She blushed a bit, but pulled herself together. She had promised herself that she wanted to hear the truth. 

"Why did you do it?" she asked. He winced a bit "I don't get off that easily, do I?" He hoped that a little humor could help him avoid explaining his actions. Sylphiel just kept looking at him. He turned serious "I know it can be hard to believe. But I did it for your sake". She finished her spell "My sake? What do you mean?". He stretched, enjoying that his pains had been eased. "I had this feeling that it would be dangerous, I hoped that I could avoid getting the rest of you anymore involved. But I guess we both know how things went from there". 

Before he could react, Sylphiel slapped him in the face. He brought a hand up to his red cheek "I must be a bad influence. It's the second time you hit me". It took a few seconds before her mind registered what her body had done. "I'm sorry!" She hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you" She had started crying again. He hugged her back "Sorry for putting you through all of this". 

None of them had no idea how long they were holding each other. "Get away from him!" Sylphiel felt someone pulling her hair. She let go of him and turned around. Nimph was busy trying to pull the much larger girl away from the man she considered to be hers. "Nimph, that's enough!" He ordered. She immediately let go of Sylphiels hair "Sorry master…" she flew down and landed on his chest. "Eruk dear?" Sylphiel looked at the fairy, "How did you end up with that fairy?". He had been unconscious for several days, and in all that time Nimph had never left his side. She hadn't been eager to talk to any of the others in all that time, so none of them really knew anything about her. 

He shot her a look. "It's hard to explain. She sought me out when she was left alone, and we have formed a kind of mutual relationship". Nimph's face turned beat read "oh master" she giggled. "In other words" He continued his explanation "We need each other for survival. I am infused with the power of the demon dragon king, and sometimes that power goes out of control". Sylphiel shuddered a little bit, she could still remember the look on Taki's face when he first lost control of his power. "Somehow she lives of my energy, absorbing it, and helps me control it" He finished his explanation by patting the fairy gently on her head.

"So everyone ready to go?" Lina shouted. During the last few days, Eruk had recovered. The entire party was waiting outside the inn. "Taki, you better hurry!" Lina called. "Coming miss Lina!" Taki called from inside. She hurried outside, carefully stuffing several pieces of paper into her pockets. Finally everyone were ready to leave. "What was that all about miss Taki?" Amelia asked. Taki smiled broadly "Recipes, Amelia." She padded her pocket "These will help greatly getting a job when I get back home". Amelia stopped walking "Get a job? Are you going to continue working as a waitress?". Taki nodded slowly "It's all I know…". Amelia spent the next few hours trying convincing Taki to give up on her career. "Why don't you come to Seyruun with me?" she offered. 

"Be quiet you two!" Zelgadis held them back "there is something up ahead…". Three creatures jumped out of the bushes a short distance away. "It's more of those chimeras" Eruk stepped forward "You just leave them to me…".

5 minutes later, the three creatures were nothing more than smoking piles of ashes. "Wow…" Lina was speechless "those things were almost impossible to kill, and he just…". Eruk turned around, a grim look on his face. "Come on, don't be so gloomy" Lina slapped him on the back "you did great!". 

It was almost nightfall when they reached a town. "Finally, I'm beat!" Lina headed directly towards the village inn. "Hey innkeeper! Bring the menus!" She had barely sat a foot inside, before she started ordering people around.

"What's wrong Eruk dear?" Sylphiel was a bit worried about him. He had not touched his food at all. He just sat there staring out of the window. "I'm worried" he confessed "there might be more of those chimeras out there…". Lina sent him a harsh glare "no way, I bet those three were the last. Nothing could have survived when that building blew op!".

Eruk nodded "I guess you are right…" he sighed. 

He turned to stare out the window. _What could that maniac be thinking? _He thought to himself. _Damien Shadowheart… Is that who I really am?. _"_In time, your guilt of what you have been responsible for will consume you…" _Gaav's words kept echoing though his mind. Already he was feeling somewhat responsible for the destruction Damien had caused. _I need to do something about this _he thought to himself _otherwise Gaav might…_

"If you all would excuse me?" He said and stood up "I think I'd better go rest up now. I'm still a bit weak from the battle today". He turned around and started heading for his room, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You are not hurt are you?" Sylphiel asked, a concerned tone in her voice. He shook his head "No, not this time Sylphiel" he smiled "Trust me, I know better than to lie to you". She gave him a concerned look as he vanished out through the door "Eruk dear…" she whispered.

"Master, what are you doing?" Nimph sat on a table and looked at him getting his gear ready. "I'm leaving Nimph" He said, with a sad look on his face. "Again? But I thought…" she tried to argue with him, but he didn't listen. "Nimph, I know there are more of those things out there" he explained "I have to put an end to everything. I'll never be able to rest if I don't". Nimph stood up, readying herself to leave "What about your friends? Are you leaving them behind again?". He nodded slowly "this is my battle. There is no reason to get them involved". A happy smile spread across her face "Just you and me traveling again, It's going to be so much fun!". 

Careful not to make a sound he stalked outside. He closed the door to the inn behind him and took a deep breath. He had made it outside safely. "Eruk dear?". He spun around. Sylphiel was sitting on a bench beneath a large tree. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked, almost as if she was afraid of the answer, He walked over and sat down next to her. "I am" he replied. She turned her head away "why?". He could feel how sad she was. "I have to end this." was his only reply. "And you better not get in the masters way!" Nimph added. Eruk shot the fairy an annoyed look "Why don't you go ahead and wait for me?" he asked. Nimph nodded sadly. She didn't like when he wasn't around, but an order was an order.

They sat in silence. She had turned around. Two pairs of emerald eyes were staring into each other. Sylphiel fought bravely to keep the tears at bay "Is this goodbye?" she asked. He nodded, "at least for the moment". She wrapped her arms around him "Be safe". He didn't say anything. He just sat there letting her have the moment. He couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked in the pale moonlight. A weak frown crossed his face, he had never really thought saying goodbye would be so hard. 

Hesitantly she let go of him as he stood up. "Go home" he told her, as he started walking. Just before he vanished in the dark, he turned around "Let me see you smile" he told her "I don't want to remember a sad face. Especially since a smile looks so much better on you". Sylphiel rubber her eyes and gave him a weak smile. He nodded, "I'll see you again. It's a promise", with that he was gone. For a while Sylphiel sat silently and stared in the direction he had left "And I'll be waiting for you…" she whispered.

Authors notes:

*Sniff*so sad…

Yes, this is how I'm ending the story. I know, It may not be what you expected, but I thought it would be better than the over-used "Happily ever after" ending. But have no fear, work on a sequel is already in progress. It may take some time before I get around to updating it, I still have to figure out the small stuff, but I have a general idea of the plot. 

Thanks a lot to anyone who has read/reviewed my debut fic, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Any suggestions/comments will be welcome either by leaving a review, or by dropping me a mail (address found at my authors profile)


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